Becky settling her into a new home

Tony Being Teacher and Friend

WynDancers Simply Irresistible Flirt

We have had a difficult year as many in our critter family have been getting very old,
so we have had sad losses this year.
Our lives have once again been brightened by new and young life to help heal our sadness.
Thank you to Becky and Dan Voss of WynDancer Gordon Setters for bring so much joy to our home in such a little package that is just throwing her self at life.
Never have we experienced such a well socialized young pup before.
She is a girl of many names right now beyond her registered name and she seems to come to all of them , I my self seem to call her Sissy most of the time as it's nice to have girl in the house for a change rather than all the males.

I would also like to thank Diane Deweese and Tracy Valentine who hosted the Wenatchee ,WA clinic for donating the profits from that clinic to the Minnesota Hooved Rescue in the name of Bubba.

Liz

Pella the Great Dane and Hilga

This is my favorite non horse related photo from my 2009 European clinic tour.

Pella is one year old and already bigger than I am, so sweet. Hilga has just done the best job raising him.

I will share more of my trip later as I get caught up here , it was a special trip once again and will be doing a European clinic tour in 2010.

Liz

Hi Hats Bubba

Bubba Passed June 10, 2009

I stood alone

To my life came Bubba

31 years we stood together

My best friend

My partner

My teacher

A Champion

A Master in Life

A credit to all horse kind

He knew how it should be, and it was

Life forever changed

I stand alone

-Elizabeth Graves

2009

Ok, That's it , enough is enough!!!!

To everyone that trail rides their horses only, you just have to start saying it differently when asked or sharing about your horse!

Instead if saying" I JUST trail ride".

I would love it if you would say it differently for very good reasons.

Instead I feel you should say with all the positive confidence, pride and upbeat as you can, "I'm a trail rider!!"

Somewhere along the line this industry has it seems made some of those that trail ride as their main pass time with their horses, to feel like second class citizens. That is absolutely not true in any way , shape or form!

Those that do, have to have better trained horses than any horse that just has to hang a rail for a class in a show. They are exposed to so much more in their environment, terrine You name it ,they are going to be seeing it if ridden enough. It takes a lot of training to make a great trail horse and there is no error for tack, in that they have to wear it much longer than a 15 minute class. Proper conditioning is mandatory for a good horse that has to hold up for hours on end. The responsibility for the trail rider is huge and they know this most of the time to if they have been doing it long enough.

As a youth this was part of my parents program that our own show horses and the clients all spent lots of time on the trail, with less in an arena . I kept the same program for the show horses in my own business later. I still to this day feel it was a huge part of our success with all the horses in the show ring, not only for the horses staying fresh, happy and not just becoming drones but also kept us fresh as the teachers for the horses too.

Just about all your advanced horsemanship, for those working to upper levels can be done on the trail too, its the best training ground one could ask for in my opinion.

So take pride and have dignity in that you trail ride!!!!!

Liz Graves

copyright 2009

Liz up on QT

It's spring at last and most folks are out riding again I hope.

So those that are working at really developing the best possible performance in their horse, while becoming the most effective rider, it's time once again for me to post my "5 Essentials of Horsemanship". Once you achieve these in a form of quality, one will have stepped into a new arena of discovery and excellence, and what it is to be one with your horse in every sense of the word.

The 5 Essentials of Horsemanship

1. Achieve and Maintain Straightness

2.Engage the Hindquarters

3 Raise the root of the neck

4. Ask for forward movement properly,

in a weight bearing posture

5. Bend in the rib cage

Elizabeth Graves

Copyright 2008

Sounds easy, this short little list , but in reality it will entail a lot of work, more on your part than that of your horse.

A. You have to find the answers to what each means in totality.

B. You yourself will have to learn how to make each happen and maintain it.

C. You will have to learn to show and teach your horse how.

One of the biggest pay offs when you can achieve these, is experiencing and coming to that very special place of " feel".

May the real workers in their journey have a successful and fun summer of discovery and achievement with your horses.

Liz

Dave Genadek Bear Tooth Mountains, MT

Here is a great and very true quote Dave says often :

True Horsemanship is invisible

until one learns to see it.

David Genadek

Copyright 2009

Daily Law of Attraction Quotation

If you know that all is well, you know all you need to know. And if you know life is supposed to be fun, you know more than almost anybody else knows. And if you know that the way you feel is your indicator of how connected you are to Source, then you know that which only a handful of Deliberate Creators, respective to the total population, really know. The beasts all know it. Your animals know that all is well. Your animals live in the moment. They understand the power of their now. They expect the Universe to yield to them. They don't worry or fret or conjure or make laws or rules or try to regulate. They are Pure Positive Energy. Your beasts vibrate more on the Energy scale of contentment than of passion. Their desire was set forth from Nonphysical, and continues to be set forth by those, like you, who want Energy balance, who want sustenance. The difference between the beast and the human is that the beast is more general in its intent. The human is usually less blended, usually less allowing of the Energy to flow, but is more specific. And that is why the human is seen to be the Creator while the beast is more the balancer of Energy.

--- Abraham
Excerpted from the workshop in Philadelphia, PA on Thursday, October 15th, 1998

The above Quotation from Abraham I feel if you are truly trying to find that higher place in your horsemanship and experience in getting as good as you can, for your yourself and your horse this is one that needs some deep thought and understanding to open the door to that higher place.

Creating an illusion of real horsemanship only goes so far and those that know that higher place know the difference between the players and the real workers right off.

Liz

2009