I'm very proud of myself :).  My timing, feel, and patience levels have skyrocketed all of the sudden.  I don't know what triggered it but I'm glad something did.  It also has helped me feel happy and content when I work on the ground.  Not uptight and tense.  Whatever's working better keep working ;).

Sonny has had two sessions since I last posted.  One was last night and the other was the day before.  I'll start with the day before's.  I'm going to try writing in a more 'story' style because I think that that might help me get my feelings and what was happening down better :).

The air had a bit of a chill to it, which I was reveling in seeing how I live in Southwest FL.  My feet bare crunch on the shale driveway.  Children are playing on the trampoline and our two dairy goats are staring at them from the other side of the fence begging to be let on with them to play.  I walk into the barn, nab a featherlight and let myself into the first stall and open the back gate, calling for the horses.  Horses, goats, dogs, and cats come running.  I lean down and give the dogs a pat.  Sonny walks up asking a question.  I loop the featherlight around his neck and reply to his question by saying, yes he can go into his stall.  I open the stall door and step out of the barn.  Sonny immediately starts diving for leftover hay and I think nothing of it and just keep plowing ahead.  I get out by the trampoline and volleyball court (Lexi's a volleyball junkie) and ask him to circle around me at a nice connected walk.  At first he fights me and eats grass every chance he gets (aka every time I go into neutral or semi-neutral) but then I go, Hmmmm, how interesting!  I start to play a game with him.  He understands that when I point he should get with the wind and when he doesn't I know he's slackin' himself off.  So, every time he would stop I would point, then tag where he's standing.  He comes around again and grass dives.  Facing him I point, then tag the spot.  He jumps about 10 feet in the air and picks up a trot.  I want a walk so I pick my stick up, wiggle it in front of him and he walks.  Throwing a look my direction of wonder and just incredibility he stops and grass dives checking to see if it was just a fluke what I just did.  I point and just as I raise my stick to swing he takes off at a trot believing me that he'd better get out of there.  I ask for a walk and he starts licking and chewing.  I go into neutral and see what he was going to do when he got to the best 'grass spot'.  He pulls and looks like he might just nibble that grass but decides against it.  He starts to walk along with the funniest look.  It's a look of just pure amazement that I could make it so he wouldn't eat that grass...  I'm standing with a smug look on my face and I ask him to come in, and he obliges.  Dad starts yelling for me to milk the goats and feed the animals.  So, Sonny and I head towards the barn.  Much to his happiness...

That session probably only lasted around 5-10 minutes but it turned out very well and I think he had fun 'cause the next time I came to get him he came right up and bent his neck around (the way my horses accept being haltered.  I halter from the shoulder so they bend into me so it's easy for me to put the halter on.  Both Sonny and Toby will bend their necks if I do.  Sonny even does it from the saddle :} ) for me to halter him :}.  I'll post about my other session tomorrow...  I have to leave to go home b/c I just finished my drug and alcohol online test so I can go in and get my permit :).  Hopefully I'll get it next week...  Yay!  lol ;).  Oh, and when I find my camera charger I'll post some pictures :).

Video and a LONG overdue update *cringes*

I'm so so SO sorry!  I've been busy and life's been CRAZY!  But I'll give y'all a quick update on everyone!


~Sonny~
Sonny and I have been going through ups downs and in-betweens ;).  Pretty much out of the blue one day he decided that changing direction from left to right was NOT cool.  I've tried everything to fix it!  But I was looking at the whole and not seeing what part of it was wrong...  I think I've figured it out now, though.  He's always been bad about his forequarter yields and I've been noticing that he flicks his nose when you ask for a back up or forequarter yield porcupine game...  So I'm fixing out porcupine game and *hoping* that'll fix his changes of direction :).  So far it *seems* to be helping.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

I can now, also, ride him w/out ANYTHING at a walk and he listens 75-85% of the time!  Now we're focusing on our trot then we'll work on cantering bridle-less again ;).


~Toby~
Toby and I haven't been doing much besides lots of falling leaf ;).  I'm also playing with our bridle-less riding :).  He's doin' good.



~ME ;)~
I'm good and I just got back from the movies ;).  I've decided to merge most of my blogs together (on a separate blog) and merge this blog and my 'normal life' blog together.  It's easier that way.  I saw Toy Story 3 in digital 3D.  It was *pretty* good.  Lex and I went by ourselves and g-ma, Aunt BJ, Maddie, and Hailey went to Marmaduke (sp?).  We had lotsa fun ;).  This weekend we'll probably go and see 'The Karate Kid'.  We all know my dad'll love it ;).

Now here is a movie I made a LONG time ago~


~Shalom, Savvy Out, and God Bless~

PS: Look out for some MAJOR changes on this blog ;). It'll look a TON better and cleaner when I'm done ;)

Z5 Driving, Cantering, Riding around w/out so much as a stick or string, and being Idiots ;) OH, It's also Wolf Spider Season *WIDE eyes*

Sonny and I had TONS of fun yesterday!  We played with Flying Lead Changes, Z5 Driving, riding around w/out so much as a stick or string, being Idiots (Our personal favorite ;-}), running around, lying down in the pond (he then decided to roll *rolls eyes* scared me about to death as he went totally under *eyes go SUPER wide*), spanish walking, bowing, getting him to lick his lips LOTS, and getting him to 'What she gonna do next'.  Which I accomplished ;).  I know, I'm goooood ;).  lol!  I'm on a bit of a LBE streak right now :P.  Can you tell?

I also think I might put my 'normal' blog and this one together...  It would be a TON easier!  I'm still mulling it over...  Btw how do you like the new look?  I LOVE it :).  It's a bit 'cleaner' than the other one ;).

Back to Sonny...  His Flying Lead Changes were SUPERB (nothin' new there ;) ), Our Z5 driving was a bit hairy (I haven't done it in FOREVER and it was also only his second or third time) and scary,  it was a TON of fun riding him around COMPLETELY naked he was SUCH a good boy about it too :).  Being Idiots was soooooooo much fun 'cause we were running around screaming and the guys working on the barn (all of which, except for 1, I've known since birth) were looking at me like I had three heads and then would laugh (that ain't cool Mr. Bill, Mr. James, Papa, Dad, and Mr. Adam!).  *Sighs* Men!  But I don't think me and Sonny have had that much fun EVER!  We'll have to do it more often ;).  You want to know something funny though...  I was originally just going to catch him, saddle him up, and then work on our finesse...  That is the opposite of what happened!  We were complete and utter goons!

I did get him to lie down in the pond (he refuses to do it on land.  Only in the water... Weird horse) and then he rolled and about scared me to death.  He, and I, are alive as you can ummm see?  hear?  I don't know!  Dad then had me show everyone Sonny's repertoire of tricks...  Before that though I worked on getting Sonny to lick his lips (hard for a LBI) and wonder what in the world that human of his was gonna do next!  I accomplished that quite well with all of my tricks I have stored up my sleeves ;).  At the end he was bolting one way, and then the other :D!  FUN!  He was also licking his lips every 5 seconds!  lol!

(Click on pictures to view bigger.  Do it!  The pics are pretty cool!  Really!) Now on to the next part of my title...  The dreaded Wolf Spiders are back!  AGH!  I think I'm going to die (literally).  I have this thing against spiders (particularly wolf's) especially when they jump on you, come in your house, chase you down the hallway (everything I have and will state HAS HAPPENED to ME!!!!) torture you, and are big ugly brutes!  SEE!  They are FREAKY and HUGE.  HUGE I TELL You!  I hate 'em.  I think you would too if one had jumped on you!  I mean, like, who WOULDN'T!  Well, I know someone who wouldn't but he's a bit of a freak...  OK a LOT of a freak.  Here are some facts about them...

Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae, from the Greek word "λύκος" meaning "wolf". They are robust and agile hunters with good eyesight. They live mostly solitary lives and hunt alone. Some are opportunistic wanderer hunters, pouncing upon prey as they find it or chasing it over short distances. Others lie in wait for passing prey, often from or near the mouth of a burrow.

There are many genera of Wolf spider, ranging in body size from less than 1 to 30 millimetres (0.04 to 1.18 in). ^[1] They have eight eyes arranged in three rows. The bottom row consists of four small eyes, the middle row has two very large eyes (which distinguishes them from the Pisauridae), and the top row has two medium-sized eyes. They depend on their eyesight, which is quite good, to hunt. Their sense of touch is also acute.

EWWWW!

Wolf spiders are unique in carrying their eggs along with them in a round silken globe, or egg sac, which they attach to the spinnerets at the end of their abdomen. The abdomen must be held in a raised position to keep the egg case from dragging on the ground, but they are still capable of hunting while so encumbered. Also unique to wolf spiders is their method of infant care. Immediately after the little spiders hatch and emerge from their protective silken case, they clamber up their mother's legs and all crowd onto her abdomen.

Their eyes reflect light well, and one method of finding them is to hunt at night using a flashlight strapped to one's forehead so that the light from the flashlight is reflected from their eyes directly back toward its source. This is also especially helpful because the wolf spiders are nocturnal and will be out hunting for food, making it easier to find them.

Because they depend on camouflage for protection, they do not have the flashy appearance of some other kinds of spiders. In general their coloration is appropriate to their favorite habitat.

Hogna is the genus with the largest of the wolf spiders. Among the Hogna species in the U.S., the nearly solid dark brown H. carolinensisis the largest, with a body that can be more than one inch long. It is sometimes confused with H. helluo (pictured below), which is somewhat smaller and entirely different in coloration.

Some members of the Lycosidae, such as H. carolinensis (Carolina wolf spider) make deep tubular burrows in and around which they lurk much of the time. Others, such as H. helluo, seek shelter under convenient rocks and other such shelters as nature may provide. They may wander from place to place, and are therefore more likely to be the ones attracted into human habitation when the weather starts to turn colder in autumn.

There are many smaller wolf spiders. They patrol pastures and fields and are an important natural control on harmful insects.

Wolf spiders are capable of defensive bites, and some South American species may give bites that are medically significant. However, in general their presence works very much in favor of humans wherever they are found.

Wolf spiders can be found in a wide range of habitats both coastal and inland. These include shrublands, woodland, wet coastal forest, alpine meadows, and suburban gardens. Spiderlings disperse aerially and consequently wolf spiders have wide distributions. Although some species have very specific microhabitat needs (such as stream-side gravel beds or montane herb-fields) most are wanderers without permanent homes. Some build burrows which can be opened or have a trapdoor. Arid zone species construct turrets or plug their holes with leaves and pebbles during the rainy season to protect themselves from flood waters.

EWWWWW!  Did I mention I HATED wolf spiders?  They are kind of cool, though!  Hope you learned something about my least favorite favorite spider ;)
~Shalom, Savvy Out, and God Bless~

Trailer Loading...

Well...  Today Sonny, Toby, and I worked on our trailer loading.  They both gave NO FUSS!  :(.  Boo Hoo ;).  JK although I do LOVE a challenge ;).  Sonny, if you so much as THINK trailer, trots over and hops in...  And to think I haven't worked with a trailer since I moved (so 2 YEARS!).  lol!  Toby was good too!  He loads well and stays in without freaking out ;).  I'll videotape it later and post it to youtube when I get a chance.  But besides that it's been BEASTLY out!  I have a horrible sunburn now :(.  I don't tan, I burn...  I JUST started riding/working with the horses since I got kicked b/c I was still in some pain.  But I'm good now.  So how has everyone been?  I'm in the process of learning how to knit lace (I'm bored and my mom wants us to ALWAYS keep our hands busy ;P) and finish my L3 TOTALLY.  When I get home I'm going on a walk (probably.  I'm not sure about that one.  I feel a little woozy from sun poisoning...) and then probably working on my Liberty...
~Shalom, Savvy Out, and God Bless~

A small update on Toby :)

Like the title says this is an update about Toby.  I have really been working on freestyle the past couple of days and he went from barely walking, not listening to the hackamore, and not listening to ANY cues to cantering for the first time, trotting with out doing point to point with treats, steering well, walking around the neighborhood for the VERY first time (and I was riding him O.O!), settling down a bit, and acting like a partner (FINALLY!)!  Woo Woo!  I'm sooo excited!  *screams*  Well I should probably get off of the computer and go work with the horses...
~Shalom, Savvy Out, and God Bless~

Today's Play Session (so far)

 'Ello for the second time today :).  lol.  So here is today's play session in a nutshell!
~SONNY~


~Online~
 His attitude was definitely not the best but after about 5 minutes he was doing great!  I stopped when I got 4 laps of trot without breaking gait and without me harping on him :).  I checked his driving game.  All good.  Then I decided to try Z5 driving since he seemed so connected.  It went swimmingly!  Every other time I had tried it he hadn't been ready.  We are now playing in L4!  *screams*  Woo Woo!  I only played with the Z5 Driving for a few minutes 'cause I wanted to end on a good note :).  I let him off and he followed me to the door of the porch.  I motioned him to come on and he did (!).  I groomed him then mom told me to come in to watch Anna Grace.  Sonny tried to follow me inside and waited by the door until about a half hour later and when I let him off of the porch he wouldn't go off until I did!!!!!!  I'm FINALLY getting somewhere FAST with this horse!
~Shalom, Savvy Out, and God Bless~

I'm ALIVE!!! And I made a movie! lol!

I'm Alive!!!!!!  Sorry I didn't update like I said I would but things have been SUPER busy!  Well I made a video of me and Sonny messing around that I made a couple of weeks ago but JUST got around to uploading!  Well here it is~




I hope y'all liked it!  Ok now I'll update~

Sonny and I have been working on our changes of direction and they have gotten TONS better than in the vid!  Last time I worked with him I got a couple flying changes!  YAY!  He also now does rollbacks as his changes of direction!  lol!  Oh and GUESS WHAT!  As y'all know Sonny and I haven't been able to do much liberty because we don't have a round pen...  Well we STILL don't have a round pen *BUT* we can do the circling game at liberty!  So far we only do it at a walk but we can also do changes of direction at the walk too!  YAY!  I'm SOOOOOOOO excited!  lol!  I am also, starting Monday, am going to, till the end of October, at least, work on our extremely broken sideways game for 10min each and every day to see if I can fix it :).  So pray from me please!  I have an extremely hard time sticking to schedules!  So please pray!  Thanx!

Red and I have been mostly just hangin' out.  I've hopped on him a few times while he was eating grass and he was *bbb!  This is the horse that just a couple of months ago would BUCK and try to attack you if you jumped on him or next to him :O!  I never blogged about when he was doing that because its kinda embarrassing...  lol!  Actually that is why I never really updated about him in the past because he scared me!  Now we are having a WHOLE lotta fun!  lol!

I've gtg!  ttyl!
~Shalom, Savvy Out and God Bless~

*Bareback and Bridleless

Writing from my heart... VERY IMPORTANT! You'll want to read this post... Plus a Tag!

Ok so I told my little cuz that I would post what I wanted to do in life and about this new program I am starting.

Ok I'll start with the link and why I am doing this new program... The link is
http://www.artofnaturaldressage.com/
I'll still do parelli but will do this one too because I believe you should use *many* different trainers and clinicians. I've also noticed Parelli is pretty repetitive and Sonny and I get bored *AMAZINGLY* fast! This new program also has some things that I want to learn to do and I am getting into dressage and I want to achieve it Naturally and *without* a bit :) . They also are not as arrogant as Parelli! Have y'all noticed how most clinicians are *very*, and I mean *VERY*, arrogant? I also don't like how they are treated like gods... But I like their approaches sooooooo..... Yah.

When I grow up I would like to take in 3 strike mustangs, rescue horses, and *unwanted* teenagers (key word, unwanted!). I've wanted to do this since I was 10 years old! I'd pair up a teen with a compatible horse and let them battle it out ;)! lol! The reason so many teens are doing what they are doing is because they don't have the love they need at home so they look for it elsewhere. The orphaned teens also *know* they are unwanted! It's so sad... I can't wait till I'm 18 so I can start doing what I want to with my life! Right now I'm just trying to get all the knowledge I can so that then I can teach them. I plan on having a lot of acreage in the middle of nowhere and maybe homeschool them? That way they would be around the Word of God and wouldn't be able to run away as easily ;-)! lol! I might make my Walk Of Faith Blog tell about my walk to where I want to be in life... hmmmm... Okay I'm back on subject. I really think God is calling me to do this because I have a HUGE desire to do this! It all started when I read the book The Cross and the Switchblade. You HAVE to read this book! It is my FAVORITE BOOK EVER!!! What do YOU want to do with your life?

I'm going to make a tag! Here it is~

What do YOU want to do with your life?
Make a post telling your readers what you are going to do to change the world, why you are doing it, and how are you going to do it. God has a purpose for EVERYONE be it to be a parent, a missionary, or to just show your faith on your sleeve!?! I the maker of this tag feel God is calling me at 13 years of age to help my fellow teens! When I grow up I want to take in unwanted teenagers and rescue horses/3 strike mustangs. God has placed a desire in my heart and I feel led to do this. The big thing is not one person has told me this isn't possible because with God EVERYTHING is possible! Right now I am working on wearing my faith on my sleeve and showing the world that 1 person CAN make a difference! Even a 13 year old named Lauren Mitchell! Lets show the world how serious we are and that being a Christian is AMAZING! Here is the link to the blog~
http://walkofaith.blogspot.com/
Take a look at it! Now pass it on!

~Button~

<a href="/http://walkofaith.blogspot.com/"><img alt="Click here to go to Lauren's Walk with Christ and Towards Life's Greater Purpose" src="/<a href=" action="view¤t=" target="_blank" /><img src="http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv204/xxSonnyxxandxxRedxx/Decorated%20images/hands_praying-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>"/></a>

Log onto your blog. On your layout page go to your sidebar and click ‘add a gadget’. Then click ‘html/javascript’. Paste the code above in the box into this box. Then click save :)!

~Awards~

~Rules~
1. Post the paragraph that I, Lauren Mitchell, wrote
2. Post the paragraph of what you are going to do to change the world, why, and how you're doing it
3. Post these rules
4. Post the blog link
5. Put the button and awards I made on your blog
6. Tag at LEAST 2 people
7. Contact the people you tagged one way or the other
~Lauren~

I tag ALL of my readers (those who are Christians at least) and I want you to tag YOUR readers too! I specifically tag Lea, Karis, Abby, Kirsten, Melissa, Abigail, and Sarah! Abigail and Sarah y'all can use it like an email tag :)!
~Savvy Out and God Bless~

Freestyle Patterns...

YAY!!!  I JUST finished ordering the freestyle patterns and I CAN NOT WAIT until they get here:)!  Well on with the horses~

Sonny and I have been doing hill therapy although I still ride:)!  The hill therapy is doing pretty well:)!  I have also been working on him moving going AWAY from the other horses and he was doing horribly but last night I got him LB again by doing a ton of close range circles with slack in the rope.  He did REALLY good:)!  I've also been working on our bridleless riding and I can now do about anything with him bridleless w/ carrot stick and savvy string of course:)!!!!!  I can get him to back up with me just wiggling my legs, Lateral Flexion with my carrot stick, jump him 18-24 inches high, and a start of a spin:)!  I am sooo excited!  I won't post a video of it yet because we are still pretty uncoordinated:)!

Red and I have been working on mounting and dismounting, the 7 games, and some jumping from the ground:)!  He is slowly but surely getting better about everything...  The dismounting can sometimes still warrant a nasty look but we have pretty much fixed that:)!  lol!  Well I've gtg eat lunch:)!  ttyl!
~Savvy Out and God Bless~

Whoever said life was easy...

Was SO right;)!  I was going to post how BAD everything has been, but today Sonny and I just had a MAJOR breakthrough session:)!  YAY!!!!  I got, not 1, not 2, but 3 LAPS OF TROT on the 22'!!!!  I have figured out something.  He HATES the 12' for some odd reason.  The second I snapped the 22' on he was a TOTALLY different horse.  He became more extroverted and playful, he even offered me the trot!  AMAZING!!!  This is the horse that usually REFUSES to do the circling game at a walk much less a TROT!  I also got him to jump the stack of logs out by where the barn is going, it took a little while but I finally got him to understand that he WAS GOING to jump the logs:)!  I then let him off and jogged up to the house AND HE TROTTED AFTER ME!!!  I was SOOOO HAPPY!!!  We are also almost ready for liberty (We just need a round pen:)).  He does a VERY close range circling game with the rope dragging and his body arched nicely around me.  I can't wait for liberty:D!

Red and I have started working on the circling game, sideways game, and the squeeze game.  He has been doing REALLY good!  I got him to trot on the circle!  HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT!  He even offered it!  Yes you heard right my EXTREME LBI OFFERED a TROT!!!  I was sooo proud of him!  We then worked on him walking AWAY from Rambo.  After that I let him off.  Can't wait for what tomorrow brings:)!
~Savvy Out and God Bless~

Update, Horse Camp, and FUN!

Hey! How is everyone? I have been SOOOO busy preparing for a camp that we are doing on our property that starts TOMORROW at 9am!!!! I have 2 helpers and 10 KIDS from the ages of 6-13!!!!! BUSY!!!! Well hers whats up with Sonny and me~

We have gotten REALLY bored of the seven games and I think that as soon as I work the kinks out of his circleing and squeeze game we can send our level 1 audition in! YAY! Well, we have already started playing in level 2 cause we are BORED TO DEATH with level 1! I am starting to teach him how to do carrot stick riding and backing by the tail... We have been focusing more on riding because he needs to get back in shape so his stifle stops "locking" and the only way to REALLY get him in shape is by riding him hard and doing some collecting and cavelletti's. Oh, I have also found his ABSOLUTE FAVORITE spot to be scratched.... INSIDE HIS EAR!!! Not down it but still inside it! He acts like a dog and leans into it!

Red~

We have been just moseying around and getting him to trust me more:)!

I'm back!!! And with a Story...

Hi y'all!  Sorry I haven't posted in like FOREVER!!!  I have been REALLY busy.  I got on Red again and I will NEVER EVER ride a horse in a saddle w/ a questionable fit...  I was riding and I pushed him a little bit past his threshold and so he sidestepped, well when he sidestepped the saddle slipped ALL THE WAY TO THE SIDE!!!  I jumped off and landed on my tail bone and couldn't ride for a week and poor Red got scared half to death...  Does anyone know of a good western saddle, not too pricey, that would fit a wide backed horse?  I am getting a wintec wide for Christmas or my b-day probably but am getting a western within 1-3 months.  For now I am riding Red around bareback **SHHH my parents don't know** LOADS OF FUN!!!  Here is a video that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!!!~

I Rode Red for the First Time EVER Sunday!!!

I Rode Red for the First Time EVER Sunday!!!  It was SOOO FUN!!!  Here is a video of it~

Here is another video I made as a Tribute to Sonny~

Thats all!  ttyl!

PS: How do ya'll like the new layout?