I am sitting at Columbia airport waiting for my flight home. I was very sad to leave Avalo and cried a lot! I will miss the place, the horses and all of the people so much. I really hope I can see them again and that I can come back to Avalo. We went out for a meal on Friday night to Michelle's friend's Italian restaurant in Aiken. It was so nice, I had a delicious but enormous pizza and in true American style took the left overs with me in a doggy bag. I had my final ride this morning on Teddy and we did bridleless jumping. It was a great way to end a fantastic trip that I will remember for the rest of my life. Michelle asked me the other day what I've learnt from my time here- the list is long and I'm sure there are many other things that I haven't even realised yet.
First and foremost, I am a much better horseman (horsewoman?). I now understand the way horses think, I am ten times more confident dealing with horses on the ground, especially in a herd situation, and I think that now I could work with any horse a lot more effectively. My riding has improved as well, and I have done many new and exciting things with horses- riding in a halter, riding with no halter or bridle at all, cross country schooling, competing in a show, working with a horse at liberty and feeling that I have a true bond and connection with a horse. Natural Horsemanship has definitely changed the way I will work with horses from now on, and I can't wait to try it with horses at home.
Aside from horses, I feel more independent and a lot more prepared for university in September. Having to cook and clean for myself has been very good for me! I made some great friends from all over the world who I will definitely keep in touch with. I have learnt so many things I never thought I'd know; how to put up an electric fence, drive (and reverse) a truck and trailer, use an electric saw and drill, make cavaletti and even cast a shrimp net. I also like cats a lot more than I did before (with literally 100 of them it's easy to find at least one that you like!)
I have had such a good time here and leaving has only made me realise that more. I guess this will be my last blog post, so thanks for reading and I hope to see everyone at home soon!
This is the week that I should have been at Myrtle Beach, but unfortunately we weren't able to go in the end. I was going to go with Emma's family, but her grandmother fell ill and had to go into hospital two days before we were due to leave, so Emma flew up to New Jersey to see her along with the rest of the family. It's a shame as I was really looking forward to the beach, but it's good to have another week on the farm.
I can't believe I only have 3 more full days here! I don't think it has really sunk in that I am leaving. We are all going out for a goodbye dinner tomorrow night. I am looking forward to going home in some ways, but we have done so many fun things recently and everyone is getting along so well that it makes me feel extra sad about leaving!
Last week we went to the centre of Aiken to hear a talk by Dr Marty Becker, a well known vet. It was a charity event hosted by Equine Rescue of Aiken (who gave Michelle one of her horses- a thoroughbred called Flashman's Papers ('Flash') who was a successful racehorse) and Michelle, Maude and I volunteered. I was happy to be given the job of photographer. There was a silent auction and lots of free food provided by restaurants in Aiken wanting to support the charity. A lot of people were there and I felt rather under-dressed in shorts as it turned out to be quite a formal event! The talk itself was really good. Dr Becker spoke about the human-animal bond and the healing power of pets. It made me miss our dog Murphy!
Both last Friday and today, Michelle took me to a state park called Hitchcock Woods. It is such a nice place- really big and peaceful, and nice and cool in the shade of the trees! Anyone can ride their horse there for free. There are miles of trails to ride on, a stream to take the horses to for a drink, and clearings with cross country jumps in them. My favourite thing was going around the steeplechase track- a circular trail with wide fences in your path every so often, like a race course. Teddy, who is not normally the best jumper, was brilliant over these jumps! Michelle said it was the best she's seen her jump in years, and it was certainly the best I've ever felt her jump. It was so much fun.
Earlier in the week we got up early to go on a morning trail ride- not Teddy's finest hour as she decided to walk backwards into some bushes and refused to come out, me still on top of her but unable to do much because of the branches in my face! In the end I had to get off and lead her out.
On Thursday I went to a chiropractor in Aiken to try and help my crookedness (Michelle noticed when I first came here that I tilt my head and slightly collapse my body to the left, which isn't good for riding!) The chiropractor did some muscle strength testing on my legs and my left leg was so much weaker! He massaged some pressure points (painful!), cracked my back and neck and then I had to lie on an inversion table (where your head hangs lower than your feet) to stretch out my spine. It all sounds very tortuous when I write it down, but afterwards I felt really off centre and like I was leaning to the right, which hopefully means it worked!
This week I have been working with a horse called Ducky (strange name I know- his name as a racehorse was Ducktown Eddie) who Anni was working with before she left. Although he is very sweet natured, he's a challenging horse. It has taken him a long time since his retirement from racing to settle and realise that going fast is not always the right answer! When he first arrived he wouldn't stand still, couldn't trot or canter without losing his mind and was very tense. In fact, Michelle got him for free because a local farm that retrains lots of racehorses couldn't cope with him. We have been doing a lot of on-line work with him, and he can now do that fairly calmly. He has only just started being ridden again, and we are only doing very basic things- walking around on a loose rein, a bit of trot, and a couple of days ago he was calm enough to try a little canter which went well. He can still rush and be tense, but he has improved so much since he's been here. I think this just goes to show how effective Natural Horsemanship can be. Click here to see a video of me riding Ducky.
Also in the past week I filmed my on-line routine for my Parelli assessment (I am hoping to get a level 2 in the on-line and freestyle (riding in a halter) sections) and also practiced some more liberty with Teddy- see the video on the left. A new working student called Rachael arrived on Saturday. She's from Pennsylvania and is planning to stay for 2 months with her horse, Whiskey.
Riding Teddy without a halter or bridle
A strange sight- 'Beacon Homes' in Aiken where you literally choose your house from their selection and transport it to your plot of land.
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