My Homework

Now, with this title you might all be thinking...why is she telling us about her homework?
Well it's not exactly that kind of homework. It's Kissie homework!

Well, we figured out that my horse Kissie was being...well...a pain. She decided that she was the one in charge of me...something  I never realized this until it was pointed out. We figured out a way to fix this, and Roberta assigned it  to me for homework.

- Teaching her to stand still-
 Assignment due Saturday, October 1st....double spaced, 1,000 words....don't forget to cite your work! :)
    I started by showing her who was boss. I did this by teaching her to stand still, while I walked around her gradually got further away from her.

Before we started this, Ms. Kissie had her head held high prancing around like she was the princess of the castle....yeah... well the evil stepmother just came back home...me....poor cinderella!

This has a series of steps to complete this process.
 I started with leading her around the ring, then I asked her to stand, as usual she didn't want to do this, so as the punishment I ordered her to back up.
Then I asked her to stand once again, this time she stood for a little while longer. When she moved I said no and ordered her to back up again... asking her to stand once more.
I repeated this process until she stood there for as long as I asked her to.

Now, in this process, it's not exactly fair to make them stand there for a long time, so when doing this you should at least make them stand until you feel that they understand that they should obey when you ask them to.

Once I got the response that I was asking for, I rewarded her; but not with a treat. This is because she will decide that she won't do anything, unless I give her treats....  a bad habit I created.... Instead I rewarded her with a good pat, some love, and allowing her to walk out a little.

Then I asked her to stand again. When I felt that she was going to stand there, I started moving away from her still asking her to stand. In response, she followed me because I was walking away. So I, again, backed her up and told her to stand. After several tries,I think she was getting the hang of it, because she stood still while I was walking away.
Next, I started to move in a circle around her. Since, I was getting closer to her butt, her immediate reaction was to move it away from me. This is a good thing if I were doing a different excercise, like lunging, but at this time that isn't what  I was asking her to do. With my "Hey look at me I am in charge" voice, I said, "No, stand!" I eventually had her standing still while I walked around her, twice, with out saying "stand" a million times.
 This is a big achievement. Instead of looking all around not paying attention to me, she was paying attention to my every move, and listening to me whenever I spoke. This may have taken a long time, but it was worth it because now I am the boss!
Well...maybe not the boss...but I definately feel like I am in charge when I am around her.

I have a lesson today, have to turn in my homework, Pray for me! :)
 ~Katie~

Wild child

Grandma, this is just for you!

My grandma has a strange sense of humor. After I spent a day with her, I now realize where I get my humor from! This character should be left in the book, seeing it in real life is...kind of...disturbing.

Thank you for spending the day with me grandma!

~Katie~

P.S- Now I have seven followers, I'm so excited! :) 

In other news...

It has been reported that my Mom has the "oh look at the cute baby, I think we should have another one" look in her eye. 

• Witnesses report hearing her ooh and ahh over babies in the nursery, even to go as far as look through a Babies R Us catalogue.  (gasp)
• One bystander told of several babies being "kidnapped" from their poor mothers and held until the poor infant fell asleep, possibly due to "Boredom"; as one witness described.
• There has been no official word from my father on the matter.  He has repeatedly answered "no comment" Our staff psychologists refer to his reaction as denial, or maybe self protection.
• The current Lenhart children are threatening to go on strike claiming "cruel and unusual" punishment. (although they ALWAYS say that for everything, so I don't think she is listening)
• Stay tuned for further details as they develop......and folks...prayer might be a good idea at this time.

This is Katie,  reporting to you live from
My Life.


Katie

P.S. I love my mom, and it wouldn't be too bad. As long as they have a girl and she likes horses :)

Back to the Begining...

TODAY...was NOT... a good day.

Okay, so being the positive person I am, I can see many good things about today....but right now, I just want to be grumpy....SO... be prepared to be grumpy with me and join in, in my little pity party...All are invited :/

I had my first lesson today at my new barn....and it didn't go well. Oh, Roberta is a great lady, and a great instructor....but apparently I am not a good student (today anyways) She didn't say that, I just feel that way.

I have a lot of work to do...working on my seat, and my center of balance, using my back and my knees to control the horse...things that I learned when I was 8,...but I am getting sloppy...and a little lazy (Okay A LOT lazy) .  I am using my reigns too much, pulling on the bit, and Kissie is reacting to that.

Funny how you can get out of practice....I have been riding all summer focusing so much on endurance, and control, I forgot the basics....like trying to build a house on sinking sand (for all of you sunday school teachers out there) But I am just a little frustrated to have so many builders on site trying to build the same house using different blueprints.
Roberta is my 9th instructor...yeah 9..I have been ridin since I was 7 and I am almost 14.  (you do the math because I hate math more than this day) For the most part, they all have different ideas on the correct ways to ride, saddle, groom, everything....its insane and VERY frustrating.

Okay....enough whining...I had a bad day, I am feeling a little defeated but I am glad to have Kissie, glad to have Roberta, and Grandparents who are able to give me this time with them both....and I am even glad for those 9 instructors.  I learned something from each of them, and I am thankful.  Time to put on my muckboots and start working....I am not going to let one bad day get me down.

Okay, party is over.....Time to let things go and move on....thanks for coming...really...A pity party isn't very much fun when you are all by yourself. :)

Almighty...

Sometimes we forget.....

Forget how blessed we are,

How quickly life can change,

That God is in control,

How much people really love us....

Then....GOD reminds us....

Sometimes He does it softly, and quietly...

Maybe we feel a soft breeze on our face...and remember who made us...

Or watch a report on the news about a far away country...and remember how blessed we are..

But sometimes....in a split second of time,your world is forever changed in a tragedy....and you remember that GOD is still on HIS throne....Still in control...

Its easy to forget that...we always want to explain things away, or make sense out of every thing that comes our way...but we cannot possibly understand it all, possibly see the entire picture like God does.

Then we are reminded....that People love us...and no matter what, God does too.

"Be still, and Know that I am GOD" Psalm 46:10

Looking me in the eyes! :)

Me and my Buddy!

Giving me a hug, awwww!! :)

"Please, feed me more treats." :)

Finally, she is looking at the camera!

I know you have more treats in that pocket. :)

Kissie and Huggie :)

I love you Kissie!!! :)

Kissie's Kisses.

Yesterday I went to see my Best Bud, Kissie, with one of my Best Friends (another horse lover like I am).

When we got there, she was excited to see me, but also very curious to see a visitor with me.
Kissie can be skittish around new people. People haven't always treated her nicely, so sometimes she can be cranky or nervous around them.

However, my friend is a horse person. She has this sweet gentle nature with horses. She looks into their eyes and talks soflty, and I know that they really hear her. Kissie loved her. She immediately recognized a horse person and began to frisk her for treats. I know, SHOCKING!

After giving her treats, and kissie practically wrestling us for more, we learned a new trick...
Well...I learned this with my instructor last summer,  it's Parelli style, which I love, but haven't practiced in awhile. (that's another story)  I didn't tell Roberts this, I could use the refresher, and I think you can always learn something new and not feel like you know it all....trust me I do not know it all.....

Roberta taught me how to use voice commands and hand signals to tell your horse to back up or walk forward....
Teaching your horse to back in ground work...

• First you take a crop in one hand and the lead line in the other.
• Then you take the crop and tap gently on the horses chest, and use the word back.
• Back her up a couple steps, then make her stand still for as long as you want her to, by using the word stand.
• If you do this process everyday, your horse will eventually listen when you ask her to back.

Teaching your horse to walk forward when you ask her to... 

• First you take your lead line and pull the end behind you so it's close to the horses butt
• Then you take the end and shake it toward her butt and say walk.
• Repeat this process until she learns to walk when you say walk.

There is more to it than that. If your horse is stubborn, (ahem) like Kissie, it takes a while. There are other things to do if she doesn't stand or walks away from you. I actually like the Parelli method better, but we need to brush up on our skills, and implement voice commands so she knows what to do when Roberts asks.

 I had fun with kissie, I can't wait to work Parelli with her again.  It's going to be so much fun!

Katie

Warning...

Beep.....Beep.....Beeeppp.....

The following has been provided to you as a paid public service announcement....

Treats  should not be placed in the same pocket everytime...horses (especially the smart ones) will search and search until they find it.  Ever been frisked by a 1,000 pound animal? Yeah, it isn't pretty...:)

That is all.....

****No horse owners were harmed in the making of this public service announcement.....however, some were severly slobbered on.

Katie

A Horse and Her girl..

SO, you want to know the latest......

Kissie and I have spent a lot of time together this week.  I really haven't ridden her a lot this week, mainly because of construction, and the weather.  But we did....

• Go on some lazy, carefree walks.
• Let the wind blow through our hair (manes).
• Smell the changes in the air.
• Graze on some nice, sweet grass...Well Kissie Grazed, I watched :)
• Had some interesting talks about the annoying things of this world. Kissie, of course, agrees with me on everything.

I love how I don't have to be anything to her. She doesn't care where I go to school, or how I do my hair. She just loves me. I know, that may sound weird...especially if you are not a horse person...but she accepts ,me for ME.

I remember when I used to ride at another farm and they would have a whole barn full of schoolies.  Schoolies are horses that are provided to other students of all ages to learn on.  Imagine this, lesson, after lesson, of the same things....day in and day out....like doing the math problem 4x4  one hundred times...eventually you give the answer before the question is asked. One time I barely held the reigns and the horse did everything for me.  She jumped, cantered, walked..everything...like she was a robot. That wasn't always the way it was, but usually.  I know it was good for me...I learned a lot with those patient, well trained horses.  I loved my instructor, she taught me so much.  But sometimes when I would look at them, they would seem old,. tired, dreaming of a week like I had with Kissie...wind in her mane, cantering across the field with no one on her back.....Free...I bet they sometimes dream of that. I promise to never forget to let Kissie have lots of times like that...just to be herself, like she lets me.


Remember to stop and take the time to appreciate the things around you and who you are with. :)

Katie

The Daring Young Girl on the Flying Trapeeze

Okay, faithful readers, here is the story of my amazing acrobatic feat on the back of my horse.

It was a cold and rainy night....wait, that's the wrong story.....It was a sunny, beautiful morning.  My mom and I went to see Kissy to have a ride, and work on endurance. When we got there I knew right away it was going to be interesting. The farm was having some construction done, and Kissie is not a fan of construction. Roberta had the big, open pasture open for me to train in. I was aware of the construction, so I decided to just keep it to simple endurance work...walk trot.
The first two laps were uneventful, Kissie was high spirited, but nothing out of control.  On the second loop, just as we reached the far side, a lot of things happened at once. A man was digging near the fence, there was a loud noise from the construction, one of kissie's friends gave loud whinny from the barn, and I was in mid post.  SO it was on that turn that she decided to bolt.

"I fell mid air, and landed on my hands....okay, I landed in manure....a big steamy pile of manure."

 While it was pretty gross, it was also pretty soft. :)
She bolted across the field, made a quick stop at the "boy's" barn (we need to have a talk) then ran straight back to the far side where the barn is. My mom caught her there, but Kissie was very pleased with herself.  After convincing my mom I was okay, I got back on her. Why, you ask. Well because if I stayed off she would think it was okay to do that everytime. So I rode her a few more laps, slowly, and we talked. I made tight circles with her whenever I felt like she was becoming antsy.  By the second time around she was calmer and we came to an understanding.

Kissie is a great horse....I went to see her again yesterday, and it was uneventful.  My Grandpa came to watch, which was pretty awesome.  Nanna sent me 2 new saddles...a treeless saddle, and Western saddle. Also  some new reigns, which are my favorite. Thank-you Nanna, and Grandpa :)  I tried the treeless saddle yesterday, it was so light, and I really like the way that Kissie responded to it.  I am excited to try the Western...the more that Kissie and I learn the better.

Till next time....Happy Trails...:)
Katie

Click on the following link to view Kissie and I riding like the wind.

http://www.facebook.com/v/1886519283321

Change is good

Wow I haven't been on my blog forever! A lot has changed since the last time I was here...

• Kissie has moved- Why you ask? Well mainly because of my parents.  They were having a hard time going in 12 directions. (parents these days) We spend most of our time in pulaski, so now she is in Sandy Creek (right next to Pulaski) Actually she is 5 minutes from our church. Seeing her is a lot easier now. She has a great stall with her own turn out pasture. I really feel like she likes it there!
• I have  spent a lot of time traveling in July. I went to summer camp and then we spent a few days on the ST lawrence.  It was fun seeing everyone, and Aunt Sis flew in for a surprise visit! It was so nice to be away from everything, but I am glad to be home now.
• Some things have changed with school. I really can't go into details, but it really is a good thing. :) Please pray for my parents and us as we make the changes.

Well...writing on the blog is now one of my assignments...leave it to mom to turn something fun into something  "educational" :). So, I will update you soon.

Coming next blog......Katie and her amazing acrobatics on the back of her horse! Truthfully, its about me falling off my horse but I think  it sounds better like that! lol

See you soon,
Katie

Wow, Kissie is looking great!
I have been working with her alot and she looks really nice.
We have had such crumby weather, that its too wet on the trails. I can't wait to get on those trails.
I also have a project this summer, getting Kissie to canter, (well thats going to be a challenge, but i know we can get it)!
I have been teaching my little sister,Allison, to ride.
She is so smart, and she catches on really fast. Kissie is so gentle with her and she lets Allie pet her and brush her mane. She is ment to be around kids, she would be the horse to ride if you were just learning.
She is doing really good!
 I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO GET ON THE TRAILS!!!!!!! :) 

When is a lesson not boring?

When it's given on the back of a horse!

I would really love to give lessons someday, and my little Sis is my guinea pig right now.

It's fun to watch her expessions and remember how nervous I was all those years ago when I was 7 and had my first lesson at Pople Ridge. I can remember how big the horse was, and how scary it was to stand next to it.  I also remember my instructor at the time made me more frightened of the horse than I needed to be.  I want Allie to respect the horse, and know how to be around them safely, but I do not want her to fear them, especially Kissie. Respect does not mean fear.  SO here is a couple of videos to see some of what we did.

I introduced Allie to Kissie. How to mount properly, and then dismount. Allie needs to work on her core muscles, this will help her balance on the horse. And she needs to work on basic riding technique. Posture, heals, etc.  I didn't want to throw too much at her today, just get to know kissie.

This one we made special for Nana and Grandpa. :)




More to come later,

Katie

My Girl.....

Okay, Okay, I will admit it I am in love with my horse. She is practically awesome and if I would have to guess, I would say she loves me back. :)

Check out this video of today. I must say this is the best feeling in the world to have something so beautiful and so amazing love and trust you enough to want to go where you go.  I have been accepted into her "herd", and I think that is such an amazing honor.

P.S. ignore my brother's Darth Vader breathing, he has a cold :) But I am thankful he helped me anyways, thanks buddy.

The weather has turned warmer, and I can smell spring...sniff, sniff...can't you?  It's just around the corner, and that means...yup you guessed it...more time with Kissie outdoors. I simply cannot wait. I really am itching to go on a trail ride. And to work on cantering with her in the outdoor ring.

On a more depressing note, I had my 4H presentation on Sunday. Pbllttt. I really don't mind doing them. This was my 4th and I did mine on Colic. I was great. Good eye contact and voice, Good information, except I totally forgot my summary! UGH! It destroyed me with points, so I was 1 point shy of a blue award.  My little sister totally rocked it and I swear she (shhh don't tell her) did bettter than me! Seriously, I did tell her, I was so proud of her and she was so stinkin cute!

Working on conditioning and getting Kissie in shape. I have so big plans for the summer...yeah!

I simply cannot believe that I can have her through the summer, someone pinch me :) Thanks so much Nana and Grandpa. This whole thing really is a dream come true...

Endurance riding may be in my future...stay tuned for details.

Katie

P.S. Pray for my friend Dylan. He is like another Big brother to me. His Dad died this week, and I am so sad for him.  I wish I could do more but all I can do right now is pray.  When is the last time you told someone you care about that you love them?  Well....what are you waiting for?

The snow is really blowing

   Lots of things have been happening at the farm lately. First of all Rachael's horse snickers was sold, but in her place is a brand new horse, his name is K.J. The snow has really been falling lately and the Lauricella family had to shovel a bunch of snow off the roof because the snow was making it cave in. 

   I am having a lot of fun Kissie, she is amazing, she is the smartest horse I have ever seen. I am getting to know her better every time I go to see her. She tries her best to not spook when shes around me so that he doesn't hurt me. I think that our relationship is really growing, I think we understand each other better. She loves her treats that I give her, they are carrot flavored and she begs me for more and more every time I give her one. she knows exactly where they are and puts her nose there if she wants more, I think that its time to find a new spot. :) I love her very much I wish I could spend everyday with her so that i could spend more time with her and our relationship would grow faster than it is now. I cant wait till next time I get to go so I can see her and have lots of fun with her! 

~Katie~    

The best teacher

A horse is the best teacher. My horse teaches me everything about her, she tells me when shes sad, when shes happy, when shes mad, and more. She loves it when you teach her too! I'm teaching her things everyday and she cant wait to learn more. Lisa taught me how make her turn on the four hand which is really easy and fun Kissie got it right a way, she also taught me how to turn on the haunches. These are simple ways to make your horse reverse. I also taught her that my treats are in my pocket and she puts her nose there if she wants another treat. I love her sooooo much she is the a fast learner and she is the best horse I probably will ever have.