Silke's Progress

Hi All,
Well, Silke had a couple of days without riding her and guess what? She was right where I left her our ride today was great! she is doing wonderful, I guess all that consistency really makes a difference. It is 2 days before Christmas and we want to wish all of you and yours a wonderful Christmas and a happy New year!
Cheryl & Silke

Silkes Progress 1 yr later

Hi All,
I am so amazed, some of the things we have accomplished may seem trivial to some of you but here goes:
I can now pet my horse while she is eating hay and grain!
I can touch her butt when I am riding and she doesn't bolt or buck or panic
I can halter her in the stall and she lowers her head
I can call her in the pasture and she comes to me
I can pick up all four feet
I can touch her where the apples go in and come out teets too!
I can say whoa and she stops
I can play music while riding
I can ride her with the quad (4 runner) stall cleaner going off and on, very noisy.
I can get on her on one side and get off the other side
I can lower her head to the ground
Silke Ground ties for a very long time in the big arena while I sit on the bench
Silke walks calmly through all gates, without bolting
when I turn her loose in the pasture she stands to be petted or scratched
she stands still for mounting every time!

The list goes on and on, I had to touch her with a very long fishing pole when I first got her, she has tried to kick me and bite me and she has bucked off my friend and the trainer was bucked off at least 5 times and some times more than once in the same day, she had bolted at every opportunity.

Silke is my favorite Christmas present, She amazes me more each day!
Have a very wonderful Christmas a nd a very Happy New Year
Cheryl and Silke

riding,riding, riding

Silke and I have 9 good rides now and we are having the time of our lives! we are doing eights and stops and backs and turns and we are riding for longer times each day. We start every morning at about 7:00 and we are riding by 8:00 (she gets her morning hay first and I get my morning coffee) We are usually done by 10:00 and then she goes out to her pasture. We usually take Sunday off. After we ride I take her into the big arena and we play the I trust you game. She stands in the middle and I trust her to not leave and I sit on the ground a few feet away and each day I move farther away, today I sat on the bench about 40 feet away for a very long time, she actually closed her eyes and slept a little without moving. she seems to like what we are doing I always ask her to lay down with me and she seems to think about it, but she has only bowed a little and pawed the ground, its a start. I am not in a hurry. our journey is such a wonderful gift! I learned about ttouch today, I want to learn more so I can apply it to our program. I am so thankful for having the opportunity to help this horse, it has changed my life! here is a "sideways" ground tying picture from today! (sorry, I don't know how to turn it around)

Hi All,
Cheryl and Silke