Sweetie and Liberty

It has always been a dream of mine to be with the horses without ropes and halters. So I was/am delighted to have discovered Liberty Foundations online.  Ruella Yates teaches the foundations in Oklahoma and also in an online course. This method enhances the love and respect between horse and human and it doesn't matter which  previous training method that you have used with your horse. 

In the first class you learn six foundations - sitting and walking meditation;greeting; walking a horse down; look at me;staking a claim and go and come to me.

The first foundation is meditating with your horse ( you can draw or read instead) in an area where you leave him a small amount of food and water. The point is to let the horse come to you on his own time, respect your space and you show him that you respect his.

The first time I did meditation with Sweetie, at the end I looked out at the herd, and they were all meditating with us...they were all standing and facing in the same direction - looking at the ocean.
Resting, yes, but I have never seen them all standing and facing the same way.  Usually some are grazing or laying down.

It took Sweetie awhile to catch on that I wanted to him come up to me and face me.  He thought it would be more fun to show me his butt.  The last session he was my star!  Came over and stood beside me the whole time, either facing me or side ways.  I am so proud of him and he stayed for a long time.

Below are some earlier photos:

After mediation - an improvement here as he is close to me...

He gets it - is near me and facing me.

I have "meditated" individually with Majestic, Moonbeam, Suki, Chie and Mystery.  They are a lot calmer afterwards and often don't want to leave me and go back out to the pasture and herd. Since there are so many horses I have decided to work with I have not finished all the foundations yet. Sweetie is my main horse for the class,  I have done more of the foundations with him.  I find the mediation with each of them so powerful that I want to do that with every horse.

The third foundation walking down was a lot of fun.  I first started doing it with Sweetie in the holding pen.  One day I had haltered him to take him down to check on Mystery who we had brought over from Thunder's herd that morning.  Mystery was fine and after walking Sweetie up the hill, I decided to take his halter off so he could run and keep up with the rest of the herd eating hay.

Instead he stayed with me walked, stopped and backed up when I did; all without a halter.  I was so delighted and he did this until we got to the hay which was quite a distance. 

The horses and I are enjoying a different way to be together, which I find fun and at times quite profound.

Here is a  quote from Ruella's  webiste : 

"Inspired by Native American and Old West traditions of her home on the Great Plains, Ruella works to establish loving communication and respect with horses, using their own language to create deep connection between horses and the people who love them,  increasing the well-being of both."

You can check out more about  Liberty Foundations Training at http://www.libertyfoundations.com/

Lots Going On at The Point Arena Pinto Ranch

We have had such a busy time since the last post that I am behind  writing this blog.

1)Mama gave birth to a new colt  on May 18th and these photos were taken when he was a few hours old.

 His first human contact a few days later

Before he was born he was named Saunder after Saunder's Reef by our dear friend Eve Larson, who passed away June 16th.  When she saw his newborn photos, she referred to him as her baby.  Since that day he has been her horse and I promised her that he will stay on the ranch with the herd and will be given much love.  His wonderful spirit reminds us of Eve and he definitely holds a very special place in our hearts.

One side of his face is black and white

and the other side is all white except for his cute black spot on his forehead - I love his white eyelashes!

2)We were about to bring yearling  Majestic over to our property and 2 weeks before the date planned, he was kicked out of the herd.  He finally went to the back end of his property where there is an old corral.

While he was in exile for about 2 weeks (till he could be trailer-ed over to his new- our home) I went over to feed and check on him 2-3 times a day.  We had a great time bonding and I fell madly in love with him.  He can be  arrogant and also very sweet. He is a really beautiful horse.

When I would call him, he would appear silently to get some food.

The corral was fixed up and after some ground work, Kathe Smothers, Molly S, Kendra B, and Barbara F brought him over to the herd here safe and sound.  Many thanks to these lovely ladies for their help with him!!

Below Majestic and Sweetie running in our round pen.

3) Kathe is our wonderful horse gentler and teacher.  She was here a few weeks ago teaching  Kendra B (my horse assistant and dear friend), my grandson, and me more ground work.  We tried to absorb all the information we learned as much as possible.  Always new tools needed to work these horses!
My grandson working his horse Luna:

Kathe teaching Little One how to get use to someone sitting in a chair:

Majestic and Mystery

Majestic will be a year old in May.  He is an amazing runner and he is already very tall.

Thunder and Mystery have a delightful relationship.  Thunder is very patient with our new colt.  My nick name for Mystery is "Carrot top" because of the hair between his ears. He is very sweet and his coloring is lighter, at least for now.

I love the photos of these two.

My favorite photo of the year!

Thunder has changed a lot over the years.  He is a lot calmer and always very happy to see us.  He is no longer afraid of humans.  We still can't touch him and I respect his boundaries but he comes right up to us with love in his eyes.

Rain at last!

As you have heard, California has been suffering from a bad drought this year.  The above photo was taken in January, unbelievable as the rainy season usually starts around November.  Fortunately we had water saved for the herd who lives with us (below) and Thunder's herd (above) was still able to find water on their property.

Finally green grass for all the horses as of February!!!  Very happy guys!  

Happy Holidays!

The Pintos and I want to thank you for following their adventures on this blog and for all your support and encouragement.
Sweetie and Suki agreed to pose for the Pinto Christmas card this year. They would like you to click on their card so you can see a bigger version.
We wish you all a happy, joyful and peaceful holiday season and may 2014 be filled with light, laughter, fun and a few neighs!

"Mystery" is here!

We misjudged when Polka Dot got pregnant - we have been waiting for a new foal since September.
He finally arrived on December 9th.  He is a sweet little thing and we named him"Mystery" since his arrival date was so mysterious. Below are photos of him one day old.

Polka Dot watches her new baby proudly!

Being a day old is hard work, "Time for a rest."

Polka is a very good mom, she is checking on her baby.

The Pintos help you with your Christmas Shopping - calendars, book and T-shirts!

Hello Pinto Fans,

The pintos have some goodies for you to purchase as Christmas gifts.

The new Calendar for 2014 is out:

If you live in the Gualala/Point Arena area you can find the calendar at The Four Eyed Frog Books.

Or you can purchase it from me for $21.00 which includes shipping.  jacqueline@photographicart.com

Don't forget their book:

This book was published in 2011 and is 72 pages.  64 pages are photos with a brief caption and
there is also a brief history of the herd.  A great book for any horse lover! The book can be purchased directly from me for $95.00.

Don't forget this year we introduced the Pinto T-shirt this year:

close up of logo

Thunder is proudly on the back!

The T-shirts are $25.00 for all sizes except extra, extra large $30.00

Shipping is an additional $5.00.

For any orders or questions please contact me at jacqueline@photographicart.com