how's this for grass?!

Welcome to my back yard LOL. Just been reading on a horse board how Canterbury is in the grips of a drought (and considering the time of year it is, we are NOT!)

So this is my back yard that the boys come into for 2 hours a day. (They're in the unused yards at the boundary fence to the neighbours place.) Smokey only had to be threatened TWICE with "If you don't let me catch you to put you back you will stay in the paddock from now on and miss out!" It also helps that he doesn't drink out of the dogs trough so is hanging out for a drink after 2 hours of shoulder height grass hehehe.

You know what? I think it's almost time to lose his halter! He's being an absolute GEM to catch now, he really is just learning what is acceptable from just being in with Mac and Rog. Will start catching him with a halter to put over his halter before I take his existing one off of course! Me not silly!

And this is them out strip grazing the big paddock, Smokey is attached to Roger's bum most of the time LOL. So very cute. And last but not least, a beautiful summer's evening here in paradise... :)

Big Day Out is always in January isn't it?

Well it was for Smokey yesterday LOL. Bridle on without any real hassles (just a token 2 steps backwards that I'll now put his bum to something solid so he can't hehehe) then took him straight out the gate for a walk down the dead end road.

The neighbours behind us had visitors and as we start walking towards their place they come out the driveway and towards us. A group of 7 people. Now Smokey isn't scared of "things" but people are not so trusted, so when they were only a couple of meters away from us we just stopped to let them go past except they all stopped too! Two young girls in the group are oohing and aaahing and ask if they can pat him, I said "sure". Rather than just put a hand out for him of course one went straight for his nose so he dived back a step and hid behind me. I brought him forward, told the girl to just hold her hand out for him and he turned his head and looked at me, checking if it was all OK. Very cute. That is what he did when I first went to see him.... that was the way he looked at Sola to see if "I" was all OK!

So he sniffed her hand and everyone admired him for a minute and then off we all went. Decided to continue down to see the Alpacas at the end of the road, and those people were entertaining on their verandah. So Smokey say's "hell, I ain't going near those aliens!" and does a zoom off to the end of the lead rope (actually when the calves behind him gave him a fright LOL). He came back up and came right up to the fence looking all of the 15hh Simone thought he was hehehe. A nosey wee alpaca (the smallest and most inquisitive one there) came right up to the fence where they sniffed at each other (with a gap of about 10 inches between them) until I gave the alpaca a fright by reaching out for it!

It zoomed off, but mum (2 legged one) came over to say hi. Smokey sniffed her, she offered him her hair, he nuzzles that, sniffed her some more, nuzzled some more, got admired lots and 15 mins later we decided it might be home time. :)

So an eventful outing for the wee man and he did very well with it all. Very proud of my wee boy.

Then his feed with day 4 of the Panacur in it (and happy to say at day 4 no worms left to see in his poo!)

God Bless the Postie!

LOL, a few things turned up today, including a nice wee wintec 2000 GP for Smokey (who I'd just caught to put in the back yard to pig out on some grass, perfect timing!) He saw it heading for him and said "NO WAY!" so we spent some time sending him backwards before he decided forward with me and the scary saddle was an OK place to be LOL. Popped it on him, he stuck his head down to eat and was completely ignoring the saddle going on and off, on and off, on and off.

Now to get a girth to fit those short straps! and to change the gullet from medium because already that doesn't fit him!

Got a gorgeous notebook in the post too from Daniela in which she'd written up for me what she'd talked to my animals about!!! That was really nice! (Told you she was lovely!)

Now just waiting on my Klaus Hempfling book to arrive that should have been here yesterday at the latest and my nippers for Smokeys' feet that'll be here next week, I don't mind birthdays LOL, it's an excuse to buy things for myself!

Summer Evenings are the BEST!

Had a lovely ride on Mac last night. 8.30pm before we got on, got off at 9pm, both of us still sweating like pigs but not cooked at the same time!

Had done Smokey earlier, over the tarp, beat him up with the sack, bridled and then took him down our dead end road for a walk and back.

Decided after what Danielle had told me Mac had said (a message of what he wants me to do in the future and I have NO IDEA where to start!) that I'd start from scratch with him too, re-do all the basics someone screwed up with him while breaking him in.... so over the tarp, showed him the sack and went to rub his neck with it.... uh oh! Mac doesn't like the sack (and who can blame him?!) When made to stand still for it he went straight into frozen with fear. Head up, eyes wild and rolled back and outright fear in his eye.... So we did some acknowledge and release stuff with him, linked in with pure love and just kept rubbing his neck, took a couple of minutes but eventually he softened and then tried to eat LOL. After he tried to eat we were OK, going from rubbing to flapping it over him. Then had a lovely ride with some nice work and all 3 boys got wormed (in their feed, no complaints this time round!)

Leo is healing well, complaining bitterly at being left in the backyard while the others go out into the paddock... PeeWee's broken nail hasn't come right off yet so she's still hopping around and on backyard rest too. The rest are all good :)

Pete said yesterday that where he was working (a couple of kms down the road) the lady had put the thermometer out in the sun where he was working and it recorded 47 degrees. No wonder the grass is starting to dry off!

My birthday tomorrow!!!! Absolutely NO birthday wishes accepted unless they're accompanied by a present!!! hehehe, guess I won't be getting many birthday wishes ;)

Leo the Lion...

...is a tad sore today! Had his visit to the vet and exited 2 stone lighter LOL. On a plus side he bounced back from the anesthetic really quickly so was able to bring him home with us again at lunchtime after my lesson with Mac.

Just emptied the truck out and thus able to empty the camera and here are a couple of the seals at Kaikoura. No face on shot up close of Daniela till she's said if I'm allowed or not tho :)

See the seal to Daniela's right in the grass at the base of the rock??? Sleeping upside down LOL. It was the one both of us happened to ask why they were all in on the rocks.



And the one alert boy down below was actually one of about 10 seals on those rocks! Well camouflaged aren't they!

My Critters Spill Their Guts!

hehehe Daniela had a field day practicing on all the dogs and a couple of little snippets from Smokey while I was playing with him. Talked to one of the goldfish and without seeing him as a fish out of water, she got him "stuck" and then saved (yes he jumped out of the bowl they were in and was found on the floor still and not breathing, did I tell that story already?)

She then spoke to Mac while we were driving to Kaikoura this morning and got all the juicy stuff on him too, including wire and choking being involved in his breaking in (did I tell you he has issues?!)

Daniela is lovely and great with what she's doing will be a credit to Rome when she starts doing this all officially (although with the Catholic hub being Rome she is running into a bit of a closed mindset about animal communication there!)

Fantastic lady I'll be trying hard to keep in touch with and I thank her from the bottom of my heart for practicing on my guys and passing on all she got from them. I now have to buy Dozer a red cushion hehehe. We got all the dogs down to the river too, which was LOOOONG overdue and loved by all of them...









We stopped and saw some seals on the way to Kaikoura, both of us after 5 mins said "too rough today huh?" LOL, maybe even seals get seasick in rough water!

After lunch and some last minute yacking Marcus and I returned to Blenheim and left Daniela in Kaikoura to finish her holiday...

Safe travels my friend :)

Visitors from Rome!!!

so, a couple of weeks back I got an email from a Daniela saying she would be in NZ in January and did I know of anyone here at that time teaching Animal Communication. In the course of our emails I offered her a bed here if/when she was passing through Blenheim and she arrived yesterday! :o)

She spoke with PeeWee yesterday and wants to speak to some of the others today and is absolutely lovely!

Looking like a bit of a drizzly day weather wise today so who knows what we'll get up to :o)

KEEPING the record changed here!

I'm doing good, I am!!! Knowing that it's coming time to saddle Smokey up again and knowing I'm nervous as hell about doing all those "important" things I've figured out I have to break it down for ME (lets face it Smokey was broken in already, he knows all this but I don't!)

A very dear lady in Auckland Christine sent me Fiona Camerons book Taking On A Youngster. It outlines all the stages you introduce things at. Knowing Smokey isn't scared of "things" is a bonus in all this, because I just say that to him over and over, "good thing you're not scared of THINGS Smokey!" "This is only a THING so you'll be fine" LOL.

So we started with the tarpaulin and yesterday we walked over that after catching him (he stood IN the tyre holding it on the ground! Lucky he's not scared of THINGS!) and then in preparation of the saddling thing I had an old feed sack with me. Showed him the sack and then proceeded to rub him down with it. A couple of flinches from him and within 20 secs he was just standing there relaxed and fine. Put it over him like a saddle cloth, over his bum and his least liked area over his neck. Then took it and did the face rub with it, he really didn't like that, but with his little bridling issue (which is resolving itself) I didn't expect him to just stand there and let me flop it all over his face LOL. But we got his face rubbed a couple of times and I got the "sigh" (Sola and Pepe will be proud of me LOL) and then he got his feed.

Have been filing his feet too, picturing for him how I want him to stretch the back legs out intstead of pulling them back under him first and him resting them on my knee. When I'm certain he is certain....

Mac is now getting jealous in the paddock but he knows better than to take it out on Smokey, he's taking it out on me instead! He won't stand for his cuddles (and believe me he LOVES his cuddles!) Old snodgrass! Smokey is going the opposite, he WILL come up for cuddles knowing I won't allow the others to chase him away, and he knew when I returned Mac to the tape after his ride last night that it was then his turn and I got a little knicker too :o)

I mean, I've always KNOWN that what we put out thought wise is what we manifest, and as a communicator I know that's true for animals of course, it's just that my older boys are used to me and forgive me a lot of head crap! Smokey is proving to be a very apt mirror and making me very aware of what I have in my head!

Changing the Record...

that internal dialogue can really make or break us and those we are dealing with. Horses are fantastic at mirroring us in this type of thing, they really are a bit of a reality check.

So I've been discussing things that hold me mentally back with someone on Paltalk, and had recognised the need to start working on some unreal fears of my own making (ie the fear of failure) and how affirmations will start helping to change that record.... Then I went out to work with Smokey and I got from him that I was scaring him (but I was scared of mucking up this bridling issue!) So I talked to him about my fears being separate to him, and that I would bubble them away from him and hey presto I have a relaxed baby.

The next session I have with him he is pretty good with the bridle and when I do some lunging like Klaus Hempfling shows in some of his you tube clips I got a brilliant reaction from the wee guy.

Keeping my 'confindence' I did more of the same today, bridling was good, lunging good, so put the tarp that used to cover the poo pile out on the ground with some tyres pegging it down and we worked on that. As long as I was confident and calm he responded in kind, within a couple of minutes walking back and forwards over it like a pro.

So now I'm going to work on changing that record even more and write out a list of affirmations applicable to not just the horses, but the main things I'm identifying and needing work at the moment.... try to feed the right wolf!

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

*sigh* I guess the Tooth Fairy is Real.....

Smokey's tooth is missing from the lounge this morning and I'm not chasing 5 dogs to see where they manage to leave it again if you get my drift!

Rotten little bugger who ever it was!!!! (do you think they'll confess????? I doubt it *sigh*) Lucky I was so chuffed I got a photo at least!

oh, he has to share it with Marcus!

here was me saying they were the same age for ease of remembering LOL and was just swinging Marcus upside and his mouth wide open and he's cutting a new molar, top left!!!! Will have to see if I can spot which tooth it was of Smokeys!!!! (heck, it might be easier to ask him actually! LOL)

2 new teeth in the same day!!!! WOOHOOO!

Smokey back in the Limelight

Gosh, he's sweet, nervous, and funny all at once LOL.

He hasn't had his bridle on for a week or so so figured it was time again! Lunged him 2 days ago (wasn't that great, but that's me figuring out my body language for him too!) so it was bridle on and then lunging today.


Got hubby to snap some photo's of him before he left for his martial arts training (3rd degree in Chans Martial Arts and runs the Blenheim and Nelson Branches, isn't he good?!)





and then while Smokey was eating his dinner afterwards he spat out a tooth!!!! What a lovely pressy! My first baby horse tooth!!!!



Then I put him back in the paddock with a piece of carrot, Roger was hopeful he was going to get another bit so headed over, and while I gave him a hug (to show Smokey what life is all about) Smokey shunted into my back LOL. Then I went to give Mac a cuddle and he said "bugger off, you didn't take ME out!" and walked off and Smokey shoved in again instead, and when Mac saw this and put his ears back at Smokey, Smokey put his ears back and lunged at Mac!!!! Cocky boy when he thinks mum is his huh?! So I had to growl at Smokey! and give Mac a cuddle and remind him he is my big beautiful love of my life!

Oh the joys of jealous horses, all so cute and sweet and a boost to the ol' ego!

and because Smokey's been hogging the Limelight

here are some more recent pics of the puppies! (minus PeeWee who stays downstairs a lot LOL)

My old man Zak who is nearly 12 and still the fastest dog on the property (altho Leo is catching him up in speed!) My growlie boy who hates other dogs touching him but always does the decent thing and warns before he snaps (even to Marcus who has learnt to listen to the warnings LOL) however he does LOVE cuddles with people :)


Cheeky little upstart Leo, who has bossiness and dominance issues and is approx 12 months old. He'll be going to see the vet soon and coming out 2 stone lighter, as soon as I remember to ring and make an appointment!


and my big boy Dozer snuggling with Miss Snuggly Butt Karma, my 2 sweeties. Dozer was 4 in December (24th) and Karma is 6 1/2.

Accepting Each Other ...

... but still playing with the pecking order, Roger and Smokey are fighting it out for bottom of the heap and after Roger giving in for a day, it looks like it's still Smokey way down there!

However they do love each other and feel comfortable with each other and that's what it's all about right?

The boys having a sleep in ;)

The Boys are Learning to Share Now.....

We shot down to Christchurch for a couple of days and the morning we were about to head home, I get a text from my friend Lisa who was babysitting the critters for us saying Smokey had just jumped the tape.

Of course he wasn't going to let anyone catch him till his belly was full so I told her to go on home, we'd be there later and I'd sort him out.

I got home and let the dogs out for a run, grabbed lead rope and had bag full of carrots and tops in tow (thanks to my Father In Law!) and although Smokey accepted one carrot he wasn't going to let me catch him! He went to play tag with the dogs and I went on up to see Mac and Roger and give them some more grass. Smokey followed me up there and watched as Mac and Rog started scoffing into carrots! THAT motivated him to be caught that's for sure LOL. Caught him and he wanted to go in with the boys, so shifted the tape and then popped him in there with them.

A few games going on in there today, Smokey trying to boss Rog around, until it comes to food at which point Rog will stand up for himself. But best is that Smokey is really relaxed in there (it's a big area) with me and will follow me around while I pick up the poo and I swear he's letting me scratch him in there all the time to rub Mac's nose in it, Mac knows better and isn't really worried by it at all tho, so that's not working!

Had a lovely ride on Mac this morning, then dragged Smokey out for some lunging work, he's not that nice on circles in the big wide open, will have to educate him! But on the plus side he couldn't care less the bay of the implement shed he gets tied at is now FULL of hay and covered with a big blue tarp.

So all is good with the boys.

PeeWee's eye is still a bit cloudy which means inflamed, I think she's upstairs in our room now, will have to bioptron her again and see if we can get that down.

Happy New Year!

My wish for you for 2009....

May the light of your soul guide you.
May the light of your soul bless the work that you do with the secret love and warmth of your heart.
May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul.
May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those who work with you and to those who see and receive your work.
May your work never weary you.
May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement.
May you be present in what you do.
May you never become lost in bland absences.
May the day never burden.
May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams, possibilities and promises.
May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.
May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.
May your soul calm, console and renew you.