Becoming a Trainer

If I were rich, I would hire Coy to put a full 90 days on Renny and maybe I will end up doing that.  But in the meantime, I simply just want to get the video made of Renny, so that I can begin marketing him.  Though, it's certainly difficult because I don't really want to part with him . But anyway, I do have a point to this navel gazing!  Over the next few months, or until he sells, I will be a big part of Renny's weekly training.  I will be the one helping him with his ground work, cavaletti, ground poles, etc.  And I will be responsible for helping him hone his long-lining skills. And, most important, I will be giving him the vast majority of his training rides.  I don't want him to be nervous or to make any of his experiences negative, so I am going to work on cleaning my body of anxiety when I handle him.  And since I've only had two rides on him so far, I want to work on riding him for a longer time and finally trying out a trot.  This past Sunday, I almost did break out a trot.  I had him coming down the center of our very large riding arena and I just felt ready!  But I didn't do it.  Yet!

Proud of My Guy

This whole training experience has been just so awesome and powerful and mystical and meaningful to me.  Renny has been an real trooper about his job and is just taking to the role of a working pony beautifully.  You can see in this photo that he's a quiet thoughtful boy.  Which strangely enough has opened very mixed feelings in me.  I remember Renny when he was just the littlest of guys all sparkly and funny and rowdy about water buckets and beach balls.  So, to see him carrying a rider quietly is truly an astonishment!  Bless his good hardworking heart!

Renny and His Work

Here's a video and photo from Renny's 25th training ride.  That was on Saturday morning of August 27th.  The very next day, I gave him his 26th training ride.  So, I am proud to say that I am responsible for part of his first 30 days without any other training help.  And I am proud to say that I stuck very carefully to "the program" while bringing my own special talents to the mix!  Yay!

Team Renegade Gels

I am writing this entry on August 30th, Monday.  Yesterday was truly among the most amazing days of my life.  It was the 5 year anniversary of when the levees broke, so I was feeling sort of kismet and magical and the strong spiritual energies.  I was supposed to meet Coy out at the barn, but he wasn't able to show up because he had to work on his vehicle with a friend.  So, I used it as an opportunity to bond with Renny.  I got him from his pasture, practiced longing and joining up with me, longlined him beautifully. I mean he has never longlined so beautifully in his life -- with balanced round light circles on the reins and a quick even responsiveness to the asking for change in directions with no change in pace.  It was amazing.  I wish I had it on film.  And then I took him to the outdoor pasture and mounted and rode him.  He was such a great little pony.  I still can't quite believe that the second time I rode him, I just did it on my own.  There were only two teeny tiny glitches.  Coy had told me to keep an active leg on him and I didn't because he moved off in a quiet sensible forward-reaching walk.  So, then after awhile, I decided to ask for circling and put my leg on him and it surprised my pony big time -- you would have thought he had forgotten I was on him entirely.  He scooted forward fast.  But luckily I had him turning on a circle, so he was very easy to break into a walk.  I was actually glad that happened because it gave me a chance to try out his paces!  I felt more confident about asking him for quick turns on his forehand and hind and for full 360s.  It was nice.  The other glitch is that he can tell that I am nervous about dismounting, so instead of standing perfectly still, like he does for the mount, he takes a two inch sidestep to get away from me -- which I can't blame him for since I take a pretty big jump away from him for the last few inches as I leave the stirrups!  Something to work on!  I can't wait to ride my pony again.

Anyway, these photos I took of the girls immediately after my happy ride.  They were happily quietly grazing in the corner of their front pasture and they were just eating as they were mingling among this flock of birds. 

Such a Happy Morning!

 

Namaste.

A Speedy Session!

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My Renny has the heart of Secretariat, endurance of Stymie, handiness of Easy Jet, elegance of Man o' War, and complete pony hipness of Teddy!  Oh, yes he does!!

Renny Practicing Cantering!

So, this morning, Saturday, August 28th, the 25th day of his training, I only got to watch for awhile before I had to go get Violet to get ready for my riding lesson.  And so I only got to see Renny doing a brisk healthy speedy canter.  Apparently, once I left, Renny did an elegant low relaxed happy hunter canter with ease and grace!  I am hoping to see that beautiful canter tomorrow!!!

Renny Longing!

Coy and I chuckle because Renny  is just doing amazingly well and likes to learn and wants to have a challenge tossed at him every day.  So, for example, today he was absolutely cheerful about longing up and down the arena and then happy to longe over cavaletti.  All good!  And Coy said that he's amazed because Renny got so quiet so fast -- that he expected it to take a little longer because it was a public barn and Renny gets handled a lot.  My pony is a quiet hardworking guy -- kind of like John Wayne in The Quiet Man.  Anyway, Coy also says that Renny absolutely understands that Coy is alpha and that he's given up that fight -- mostly.  The one place where you still see the little teensy shadow of testing like a little 2 year-old manly colt should do is at the longing -- longing to the left, he likes to test whether he really has to canter or not. And today was a hoot because when Coy said, yes, you have to, Renny popped upwards and gave the softest prettiest lightest little canter on the line.  What a good naughty boy!!

Handsome Quiet Pony

One of the amazing qualities Renny has is that he is happy to come to a true absolutely still halt and then just stand there for as long as it takes to receive another order.  Coy and I just stood and chatted and planned and talked for as long as we pleased, and little Renny just took a snooze. And then after that teeny snooze, he was happy absolutely happy to start up again and go from a walk to canter.  He's truly a sport pony deluxe!

Renny and His Trainer, Again!

Okay, so again, I'm writing this entry on Saturday, August 28th.  The morning started out crisp and cool and lovely and then turned warm and bright.  And I got to enjoy my morning coffee while watching Coy and Renny  work beautifully.  My pony worked light and loose on the longe line, jumped happily over the cavaletti at all 3 heights, and walked, trotted and cantered with ease.  He was happy to walk the rail with complete calm and he was at ease with each step.  I mean, I am so proud I can barely stand it.  Coy says that he is really a talented amazing pony and that he doubts that he will end up with a child for years because he will be so athletic and competitive that an adult will want him!

Renny and His Trainer on Day 25!

So, I am writing this post on Saturday, August 28th.  I just left the barn to come to my office to write this post, in fact.  I have had one of the nicest mornings of my life.  Coy and I enjoyed the training session with Renny who was wonderful.  Coy kept talking about how good Renny and giving me training advice and it just seemed like my pony was working with ease and sweetness to please his trainer!  Mary and I had a great riding lesson with Stacey and then Mary and I traded horse stories while we were in the wash racks with our beautiful creatures.  Mary told me that I needed to keep Renny that he was something special and would become a wonderful dressage pony.  I told her that Renny deserved a kid and a training barn and someone who would really ride him so that he's wonderful.  And Mary said that I was a kid and that I was at a training barn and that I could ride him and enjoy him.  I laughed and laughed!  What a really lovely quiet wonderful joyful morning -- a slice of heaven!

Tired Pony

This Day 24 was a tough one, I thought, but Coy thought it was well within Renny's abilities.  He had a very long, taxing longing session, a ride around the farm, a short very supportive and friendly boosting ride by Coy and then he carried his Grandma.  Today as I write this note is Day 25 of training -- I hope it is a very light session. And then he has Saturday to relax before having another training session, is 26th and last formal one, with Grandma on Sunday.  Whoops!  I'm not allowing myself to refer to myself as his Grandma anymore.  I want to love him, but I was to help greenbuild him, so that he's ready for his new family and new trainer.  I want to love, but not spoil or confuse him.  I am looking forward to seeing this guy!

All the Love in My Heart

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I've been blessed by my herd.  They are a good group and Renny is an amazing pony.  I hope that in the months ahead, I can develop a calm level-headed courage and strength.  I want to bring my best buddhist self to little Renny's training.  And I hope and pray that his new family, a good loving family, is being prepared to find him!

Working Pony

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Check out those hindquarters, that relaxed stride and that headset! Day 24!  Namaste!