Behind What?! Time to Settle Into the Summer "Routine"

Today I really need to remind myself that I am of the opinion that the words, "I am running behind" are just a manifestation of an illusion. Who says I'm running behind? Running behind what exactly? Are we all in some kind of race?! I would prefer to make the choice to live as if life is really not a race. Some weeks it feels like it is and I have to remind myself; our life is not a race.

There have been so many things happening with so many people that it is easy to lose sight of the framework of our days.
Some of the many fun things going on around here lately;
Horses graduating and going home with their owners, new client horses arriving and going into training.

This photo is of Rashid's first lesson with his gelding, Thorin. They both did great and Rashid will be taking his boy home soon. 

Beth is teaching horsemanship to many, many students! Her classes are going and she has several private lessons every week as well. 

Beth, Kathie, Sam, Laura and Sarah performed in the Treasure Valley Young Artists spring concert. 

This means we are done with rehearsals for the summer and Tuesdays just got a whole lot easier to handle!

Ted continues to work on getting his pickup closer to on the road. Sarah loves to spend time with Daddy while he is working in the shop. They have been working on replacing door seals, window tracks, etc. 

Ted is also dedicating tons of time to helping Laura with her mustang. They are out there 

almost every single evening. Laura usually does at least one (often two) training/practicing sessions with Michalean during the day but the concentrated training that is really expanding her technique and skill is the session at the end of the day with Dad. 

Terrence has added a few more hoof care clients. This is a picture of an EasyCare NG, one of a full set he put on a client horse a couple of weeks ago. 

Some recent improvements were made to the client horse pens. The new dividers are made from recycled belting material from sugar beet piling equipment.

Tika, one of two Drinkers of the Wind Arabians, who recently arrived for training.

Shiraz, also a mare from Drinkers of the Wind Arabians. 

 The weeds are going to take over the raspberry patch! Or they would if it wasn't for Matt and Sam who will probably conquer that patch of trouble tomorrow. Matt, Sam, and Terrence have done a lot of weed control around here lately. They run equipment for me; mower, weed eater, sprayer, and the little ones and I do old fashioned weeding. Unfortunately I have a strange propensity for working in the flower beds versus the parts of the garden that actually produce food of some kind.

The fruit tree blossoms did not all freeze! I thought for sure we had lost all the buds but it looks like that is not the case. 

We're relieved to be transitioning out of the spring frenzy into the slightly calmer summer routine.

 Thank you to all our friends, clients, and followers who have made our spring so great. We're looking forward to even more amazing experiences on our family's horsemanship (and non-horse) journey. Thanks for being part of it and letting us be part of yours.
~ Leni

Photo Filled Clinic Overview - Oreana Spring 2016

The 2016 spring Oreana clinic was three very full days. We had a very diverse group of students and horses. Students ranged from experienced riders with literally thousands of competitive miles to comparative beginner riders. The horses ranged from sensitive hot blooded horses to the extreme opposite; cold blooded lazy horses! There were a couple of features of this class that I found particularly interesting. This class was more than typically engaged with each other. They interacted with each other and with the clinicians in a very proactive way. I thought that was neat and several participants indicated that the group discussions and class time were especially helpful for them. Another trait was - working overtime! On Saturday morning I arrived at 7:15 and Ted was already working with a student and her horse. 

Here are a few shots of morning class/discussion times.

Here Lynn and her horse get some one on one instruction on roundpenning, and several other students took advantage of the opportunity to observe and listen.

Practicing without the horses.  

Participants worked in pairs for this phase of the clinic. We do this to prepare for several common scenarios that the students will encounter as we move through the exercises. More than one student has commented that this is an interesting and helpful exercise. I observe that it definitely highlights the importance of body language and the simple fact that it is our job to speak the horses language. It is also good fun, some folks can act a very convincing naughty horse!

Following are a few favorite shots of each participant. 

Steph with her newest addition, an off the track Standarbred named Willie. 

An 'exception' occurred at this clinic. We do not normally allow mules at clinics but special arrangements were made and Linda was able to follow along with her mule. Thus she was "somewhat part of but not entirely part of" the clinic. Matt made this possible by making himself available as a dedicated instructor for Linda for the duration. 

Lynn White and Mike the Morgan

Sally Tarbet brought out her 'new girl'.











Debbie Grose, she brought the most auditors.
















David joined us for a second clinic, these first two photos show an awesome student.











David was probably the participant who loved the cruising the most.






Carol Smith joined the group with her mustang.



















Merri Melde, many time clinic observer, joined as a participant for this one.














Michele Unsworth, with us for her second clinic.
















Kamelia worked so hard all weekend she almost forgot to have fun. Not quite, just almost!

Kamelia had a great support system with her. She was accompanied by her husband as helper and had three daughters along for the weekend too. One of the many nice things about the Teeter place is the family friendly environment. Everyone's welcome at the crick!
















Ken Baker returned for his second clinic. This time he used our horse, Cowboy. Cowboy is a great match for Ken and he will soon become Ken's horse.











Carol and Pyrite











Beth Skaggs was an absolute pleasure to have. We are so glad she won the clinic spot given away at PNER convention! She dedicated two weekends in a row to studying (and practicing) horsemanship knowledge and skills. (She audited the Parma clinic and then participated in the Oreana clinic.)



















Next post will be a true update on 'everything going on here' - there seems to be a lot!

~ Leni