> One time Ann Elwell told me, "You can't do that". > > My response: "...Those who say things can't be done should stand out of the > way of those who are busy doing them."
when we were at the boarding barn, all there were either extreme redneck QH people, a couple of dressagy types who gave lessons and did arena work only, a bunch of trail people (including me), and one very loud obnoxious young person who had been showing saddlebreds since she was like six years old. just a show brat. She was so mean to horses. Anyway. One day I had stonewall out front with clickers and I was teaching him to stand on a pedestal. I didnt have a pedestal. I had a stump. And a log. She pulled up a chair and sat about ten feet away and slowly a crowd gathered to watch. And all the while I am working with stonewall and each time he would almosttttt do it, she would say real quick "he is gonna get hurt and when he does you won't ever get him to do it again". Or she would say "thats too high for him, its gonna roll, its gonna splinter, treats make horses into biters" on and onnnn and everyone just totally agreeing with her and absolutely blinded to him trying and trying, almost with human eagerness to please. The stump was WAY too tall. a cut off tree actually, about 3 and a half feet off the ground, maybe 4. When he finally got his foot up there you could see it was too tall, and I had to admit to myself she was right and started to tell him to get diown but he braced and creakkkkeddddd up on that one foot and he was so high in the air it even scared me. He was just towering over me with one foot on the stump and one foot pawing at the air, cause he remembered his tricks and wanted to make sure he got a treat for "counting". I clicked and gave him a treat jackpot and danced around hugging his neck and kissing him and laughing just oblivious and then turned and saw their faces. People do not like it when you break the rules and win. It can actually make enemies. But oh well! Life moves on... now sometimes I have to be careful because stonewall will decide he wants a treat so he will just arbitrarily select someones brand new pickup truck tailgate to try and stand up on.... I smack his knees tho and he behaves. janice -- yipie tie yie yo
