May Madness Madness: Part Three: My Medallion is Complete!

First off, let me start out by saying that I'm sorry for not posting last week at all. Life threw me a bit of a curve ball and I needed time to recoup.

I did finish my Ronald the Mule medallion, sculpted by Audrey Dixon, and dubbed him "Wowza" as I already have a "Ronald" as I was lucky enough to purchase one that Audrey Dixon painted to a lovely, dappled pearly grey!

Also, I did not take progress photos when I finished Wowza. What I ended up doing was another two layers of white pastels over the darkened spots, as well as a bit of light brown on the face to tone down the white markings and black spots there slightly too. Once that was done, I went back in with colored pencils, tweaked the white and black spots on face, added a bit more variation to the mane, and then proceeded to seal Wowza with a matte sealer spray and then I glossed his eye. I think he turned out quite well!

(He turned out quite cute! I mean who can resist that face?)

(Audrey Dixon's dappled pearly gray mule & my own spotted mule in my curio)

While my official medallion is done, I am hoping to at least get one of the three I purchased done. Plus, we can't forget about all the other awesome medallions that are being worked by Model Horse Blabbers!

Till the next time!

May Medallion Madness: Part Two: Combining the Knowledge

Last week after working on my medallion with Shannon, I did put in a little more work. I cautiously, shaved a small bit off my drawing pastels (though not a lot as I quite like them for drawing on paper!) and tried to add more layers of white.

(First layer of extra white-can't really tell the difference...)

When this proved unsuccessful I transitioned to an acrylic wash and darkened some of the spots that were meant to be black based off my reference.

(White wash and darkened spots along with eye started as I had the white paint out anyway, right?)

From there, I used colored pencils to work on softening edges as well as continuing to use acrylics to work on the eye. I will say, this medallion has a lovely eye if I do say so myself (and I am!).

(Where I left off for the time being.)

Once I have different pastels & pigments in hands, I will go back and do another layer or two of white to soften the body as well as several spots on the face. This Ronald the Mule medallion is coming along well, and I'm looking forward to finishing it.

Till the next time!

May Medallion Madness: Part One: Adventures in Pastels

My apologies for going silent unexpectedly. Finals took precedent over everything else, but we're back!

~~~

May Medallion Madness has started and it's off to a fantastic start on Model Horse Blab (we kept it small for this first year)! We've got 20 participants and it's going amazing! People have started on their medallions or are prepping them.

Me? I got my first experience in working with pastels. Granted, I could have picked an easier color to start with, but, it does give me more to work with/play around with. Shannon was kind enough to bring her pastels so that we could work with them. She worked on a CM Breyer SM mule.

Below, you can see the progression of layers up until my stopping point:

Last but not least, Shannon's adorable Mule in-progress.

Till the next time!

Animals as Teachers: Lessons From Dogs

Dogs. Common right?

WRONG!

Common as pets though. They themselves, as individuals, are not common. Not in any way, shape or form.

(My most recent canine teacher-Lucky)

The biggest lesson that we are taught from dogs is unconditional love. They love us unconditionally. Bad dogs are rarely born, they are made.

But there are other lessons to be learned from our canine friends. Dogs lead truly interesting lives when you think about it. Overall, dogs are happy about life. They are. Happier than a high percentage of people. Dogs remind us to live in the moment. Get yelled at but two minutes later you are being praised? Dogs deal with that all the time. Most dogs don't hold grudges, it's not in their nature. People hold grudges on a scarily high frequency. We need to take this lesson of live in the moment to heart and remember that whatever we are mad or upset about is a teeny, tiny blip in our lifetimes.

(Dogs give love unconditionally,, and show their affection in many ways-like laying next to you.)

Live life to the fullest is the next lesson from the dog. Dogs have heart-achingly short lives. Any dog owner has experienced this devastation. Compared to our decades long lifespan, our canines live roughly a decade. A decade and a half if you're lucky. Two decades if you're extremely lucky. Dogs truly live their lives to the best of their abilities. Many are happy so long as their owner is near them, others thrive on walks or play time, and still others thrive on trekking along or riding along with their human, or even chewing on a toy or stick. How hard is that to comprehend for us? We who thrive on complexity (in appearance).

(Living in the moment is another lesson that can be learned from our dogs)

And a sub lesson in the above lesson is that you need to enjoy the little things. Those precious moments of time spent with your pet or other loved ones. Time, no matter how long or short it is for you, is precious, make sure you're spending it the right way. Do things you love rather than things you hate. Instead of putting off that walk, go take it, even if it's just around the block. Learn that skill you wanted to learn.

(What motivates you?)

Another lesson from dogs is learning what motivates you to learn/work. Is it food? Play time? Petting--wait, that's dogs! But in all seriousness, what motivates you? What inspires you? What makes you WANT to work? We think of all sorts of things to motivate our dogs to learn new tricks or skills, yet we take so little time in looking at ourselves and what motivates us. And really, are we that more complicated than dogs? I don't know about you, but the minute someone says free food, I'm usually there.

(Ever forgiving)

Forgiveness, is another huge lesson from our canine friends. We can yell at them for doing something bed and while they may sulk for a bit, or avoid you, they are quick to come back. They forgive in a way that we, as humans, should really study and try to emulate. We'd ALL be a lot happier if we did so.

(Thinking a bit more about your canine companion(s) now? Good!)

The final lesson to take from dogs, so to live in the moment. Too often, we dwell on past events or even future events. Think about for a minute. Take your time. I'll wait. Still here. Keep thinking on it. A bit more...oh come on! Pause for a minute! Quit reading for 1...2...3... And we're back! We don't live in the moment. We live in the past & future but rarely in the present. No wonder so many of us aren't happy! We don't know how to live in the moments we're in. Something always needs to be better or could be done better, or something needs to change--but what about now?! What can you do now? How can you be happy now? What do you need to let go of to be happy now? Dogs, live in the  now. They aren't worried about what happened yesterday much less what happened an hour ago! They want to eat that treat in your hand, or lay next to you, or know that you're close. How fascinating is that, am I right?

We've got a lot to learn from our animal friends, and we're not done with them by a long shot.

Till the next time!

De-stressing

We all have crappy days-some more than others-but the important thing is to find something or do something that makes you happy/relaxed. For me that’s reading, writing, art, my pets, friends, some family, etc. Try not to dwell on the stressor & instead let yourself go into the moment of relaxation.

Today, for me, it was putting baby fur colored pencil detailing on this foal I’m working on for a friend.

(In progress picture of above mentioned foal.)

Animals as Teachers: Lessons from Horses (Part 2)

First, allow me to apologize for missing Thursday again. I've been going through a rough patch, but it will be temporary, like they all are. Back to what you really want to read about-the horses.

~~~

(Blue-eyed Buddy after class.)

I was that girl who dreamed about horses. Not just owning a horse, or simply riding, but mucking out stalls, taking care of them. I was that girl who would have worked my ass off to have a little time to spend with them.

There came a point in my life as I entered college that I thought that I would have to just stick with their plastic counterparts. I couldn't get my foot in the door, much less find someone who would let me work with them.

Then it all changed.

(Dan the Morgan at the end of our ride.)

I have a Bachelor's Degree in Agribusiness and a minor in Entrepreneurship. I am weeks away from finishing my Associates in Equine Applied Science, and I still want to finish my certification in Equine Massage (though I will be moving to a new job so that's temporarily on hold).

It's not easy living in a small town/rural area. It has its perks, but job wise, it's not an easy thing to deal with. Jobs are few and far between and qualified candidates can boil down to a simple fact: who you know.

Well...I didn't know anybody. While qualified, I was an outsider.

So back to studying I went in the field I loved even more than just agriculture. But even before this moment, I met a man who was beyond kind in letting a horse crazy girl like me work with his horses. We are good friends now, and the horses from last post all belong(ed) to him. He taught me the basics of groundwork and riding, schooling has refined it.

My two teachers at the equestrian center have also become good friends. It is through them that I got my newest job/even knew of the opportunity. They have taught me so much more than I would have dared to ever dream only a few years ago.

But it's the horses' were interested in. For while the teachers' can teach us theory, the horses genuinely show the how and the why.

(A pleasant ride in the arena with Dreamer.)

Piper, an old bay Arabian gelding, was the first horse I learned how to trot and canter on. Due to being unbalanced in the saddle, I took a tumble out the first time we cantered. Good ol' Piper slowed to a stop and looked back at me with an expression that said "Now why would you go and do that? We were doing great!" He could be a bit grumpy while being saddled, trying to nip at you as the girth was tightened, but I never held that against him. I don't like tightening my own belts. He was ever patient, ever kind, and always a joy to see at the barn. It was with a sudden, cruel swiftness that we lost him last summer during the kids camp. I saw him only a couple hours before his death, saying I'd see him tomorrow. Little did I know. He left a legacy of people behind who loved him and appreciated that he was the horse that they learned to ride on.

(Me and Hale)

Next came Cue. A grouchy, bay Paso Fino who thought he was in charge 24/7. It was through Cue that I learned how to be firm with a horse. Horses weigh roughly 1,000+ lbs. compared to our measly weights. They are muscular, swift and while they might not necessarily mean to hurt someone most of the time, they can do it accidentally. Bad behaviors can soon become dangerous or "cute" behaviors when they were foals can turn into terrifying behaviors when they are adults. Cue taught me how to communicate with a horse using their language.

Horses are generally quite animals. Domestic horses, of course, are louder than their wild counterparts. That being said, if you ever watch a herd of horses, be they domestic or wild, you will see them communicating. Ears, eyes, tails, legs, teeth and really the whole body are used to communicate on how they are feeling. Kicks, nips and bites are used to communicate displeasure and/or dominance. Cue in his herd of three that included two other Paso Finos demonstrated this to our class as we watched. While working with dominant Cue, I had to learn how to be dominant over HIM so that I could keep not only myself safe, but him too as we worked on ground manners/handling.

(Hale wanting a treat)

From here we hit the "giant" era of my schooling. I would be riding and handling the draft horses of the barn. First came Hale, a black Percheron who was coming back from a neck injury and had been sitting for several months. He was my horse in Training I. Our first day, he bucked me off (not that it took a lot back then to do it either). The next time I rode him, he broke his girth on the saddle in his attempt to unseat me. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't afraid of him. It was on Hale, however, that my riding and my communication to any horse while riding, started to improve. Believe it or not, Hale is now one of my favorites to ride, as he and I get along great, and he is a willing horse, he just needed a small refresher and for me to understand how I was sitting in the saddle, how I was holding the reins, what I was telling him to do with my kicks, rein pressure and body. I would be riding lots of other draft horses from than on, including Rohan a chestnut Belgian/Quarter Horse cross, Soa a dark bay Percheron mare, and Stone a bay Clydesdale. I would ride them for my Riding II class as I continued to hone my skills, and while they didn't necessarily stand out as much as Hale, they still assisted in bringing him the points he'd taught me.

(Dreamer after our ride for the day.)

Two falls ago, I met Dreamer a young chestnut blanket Appaloosa. He is the last lesson horse who really stood out in my schooling. He was a stallion until the semester before I took my class, and while he is a sweetheart, he likes to bluff, and those bluffs can be downright intimidating. Thankfully, what I learned from Cue made Handling II with Dreamer fairly easy. It was that summer that Dreamer started to show me more. The horses I'd ridden before helped me to learn how to ride. Dreamer MADE me ride. He still does. He likes to buck out of excitement, irritation or just to test me. He is still young and learning, and while I am not his trainer, I am the in-between rider between the trainer and owner (who is handicapped). I am competent enough to know how to ride and what Dreamer needs work on, while still being inexperienced enough that he and I are learning together.

(Dreamer was a bit sassy after our short ride Thursday.)

I am grateful that even once the summer ended I could still come and ride Dreamer, and while there would be more horses for me to ride and learn from including Buddy a chestnut Paint gelding, my Training II horse, Morgan a black Morgan gelding, Athens, a chestnut Arabian I have lunged and ridden for my teacher, Riesling (Reese) a bay Arabian/warmblood mare, and Lacey, a Fleabitten grey Arabian mare that I have only lunged on a couple of occasions.

(Buddy being silly and standing in his tire-hay feeder.)

Which brings us to the last part, and it's that-you never stop learning. My Stress Points I class massaged Lacey last week as we reviewed stress points. I have only lunged Lacey 2-3 times before that. I've never ridden her, and I have only interacted with her one to two times outside of that. I do not know this horse. The only reason I stress this is that out of the four of us there that night (teacher and two other students) when I led her up to the arena to let her run around-I know her enough to know that she has quite a bit of energy so that it was likely she'd run around in the arena feeling good after her massage-she followed me. Without a halter or lead rope. She followed me even when I started to jog. It was quite the experience, and a good reminder that I will have more to learn, be it about horses or in life, there is always more to learn, more that will surprise me, and more that will make me cherish life.

(Lacey following at a trot as I jog. She even stopped when I stopped, not going ahead or away.)

Animals as Teachers: Lessons from Horses (Part 1)

While we, as humans, like to think that we are superior as a species, the reality is that we are not superior. If anything, we are inferior, as we find it hard to communicate with other species, yet other species have a relatively easy time in communicating with other species (not just us).

For my next two posts, I want to reflect over my animal teachers; specifically horses.

We'll start with horses that I have met outside of my schooling first.

While I had some interactions with horses before these listed,  none were more developed than those that came into my life through my friend.

(I miss this sweet boy still--Zip.)

First up, is Zip, a large, few spots/near white Appaloosa gelding. This boy was a great horse for me to start truly learning to ride. I had limited experience up until this point, and it was on this gelding that I learned the basics. Funnily enough, he and my friend did not get along well, and Zip bucked on him several times. When I rode him, though he was gentle, and took care of me, only bucking once due to another horse spooking.

(Alpha Horse-Bubba)

The next horse would be Bubba, an Appendix Quarter Horse, who taught me that as much as I like Thoroughbreds, they might not be the right match for someone like me, who prefers trail riding (as a whole, I realize that some are perfectly suited for this). While he was great to work with on the ground, he was a bit too "hot" for me to try and handle riding wise for my experience level at the time, and while I will always admire his beauty (that wedge-shaped Thoroughbred head on him!) I learned that I would most likely be a stock horse person due to their calmer demeanor. He was also the first to teach me about herd hierarchy, which had been something I'd only read about. Bubba showed me in person how a herd hierarchy works and how a good alpha/lead/head horse functions. He disciplines members of his herd, protects them, and of course, makes sure he eats first. All that aside, I starrted seeing the language of horses at work. It would take my classes to understand what exactly it all meant though.

(Banjo-Bud investigating all the grooming tools)

Then there's Banjo. A solid bay Paint Horse with chrome (white markings) and blue eyes. Banjo has taught me that you may not always get along with a horse, and that it's okay. Picking your battles is just as important as riding every day. He and I have had more ups and downs than I can count, but at the end of the day, I still like him. He's a good horse for the owner, and while I may ride him from time to time, he and I just have a day to day relationship of "let's see what mood we're in today".

(Rusty-Colt)

Next is Rusty, a young horse who reminded me in no uncertain terms that I will always have something to learn-and that's a beautiful thing, truly. After taking my classes I was confident in my skills and decided I'd teach Rusty to lunge. This went fairly well to start and then one day he refused to go out and caught my hand twice with his kicks. I didn't know what to do. Stark reminder that I still had a LOT to learn, and I probably always will. I'm perfectly okay with that, and I just needed that reminder (though I could have done without those kicks!)

(My favorite photo of Snowflake)

While there have been others horses who I have met, this is the last one who had several lessons to teach. Snowflake, my Little Mare. When my friend was injured, I did chores for him, helping him out, being the way he is, he wanted to pay me back, but as he'd been out of work before his accident, I refused money. As he still wanted to pay me for my time, I accepted Snowflake as payment. At first, I did not like Snowflake. Shocking, I realize, and I shake my head at my stupidity at the time, but I became fond of her, and I like to think she of me. I achieved my lifelong dream of owning a horse...and it only lasted a year. 

(Little Mare)

Snowflake, while well-broke, would not stay sound. This quickly ate up any funds I had for her care and upkeep, and it was a gut wrenching decision to sell her. I am not ashamed to admit that I cried when I had to part with her. Even knowing that she was going to a good home with two little girls who loved her, the little girl in my own soul was broken and dejected. I had my dream, and I'd let it go. Thrown it away. Wasted it. In that is the lesson though, while it hurts to part ways, you need to do what's best for the animal(s) in your care. I could not afford to have a chiropractor come out constantly to treat her--her new family could/they weren't going to use her in the same capacity I had wanted (trail horse for me, simple riding horse for the girls).

(Another favorite photo of Little Mare)

She taught me many things though: the trust and love a horse can give to its person, learning to communicate both on the ground and from the saddle, how to take time in my busy days to go and see her, to be with her, not just to ride, and this would lead to how to take time for myself and those I love, not just working myself to death. I'm sure there were others but those were her biggest lessons.

(One of my last pictures of Snowflake-an intimate moment when she and Roger-donkey-allowed me to be apart of their herd. What the picture doesn't show well is that we are pressed together, shooing flies from each other, with me between Roger and Snowflake.)

These are horses outside of my schooling. The next post will be of the special lesson/school horses who have taught me many of the valuable lessons I now use when I work with these magnificent animals.

Till the next time.