Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[Sweetpea3829]

Just curious.....

How old is your daughter
How long has she been taking lessons
How big is the horse
And
How big is your daughter
How confident is she?

Having had horses for 47 years and taking lessons as well as watching lessons, these are important questions....

Dismounting is an important skill thats why I asked. Some answers to the questions above would be reasons why he hasnt taught her how to dismount without steps yet. The skill requires you have your feet free at the last moment you keep hold of the saddle as you lightly hop down.... Even if the horse is running you can do this. This skill is a safety skill. You don't have to use it once you know how. But it should be taught eventually.

I am five foot eight and weighed 330 pounds the last time I rode my girl in 2003. She is over 17 hands tall. I got on using a mounting block... but refused to use one to get off and stunned my trainer when I did that style of dismount. It wasnt pretty but I got off clean without any worries. Muscle memory from my real riding days.

deb

DD just turned 8 and has been taking lessons for a bit over six months now, lol. She is 50" tall and I'm not sure how tall the horse is...I'll post a photo. As for confidence, she is pretty confident I would say. She has fallen off of Jolie, and bounced right back up and got back on (with the block)

. We actually started riding lessons for her as a bit of a respite. She has some significant learning disabilities and a younger brother (11 months younger) that is academically gifted. Pretty much everything that they do together, he does better, kwim? They both play piano and she is very good at it, but he is "better". He gets the notes more easily than she does, even though she has more of a musical touch. Riding was something we picked for her to do that was just for her...something that none of her little brothers can come along and outshine her.

Its also something that she enjoys very much. So after a long, hard week of struggling in school with pretty much every subject, she gets to go to the barn and ride. She loves loves loves it, lol!

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Oh what a cutie patootie.... shes going to be doing that free dismount as soon as she is ready.

You are doing a good thing for her.... Horse is an appropriate size too.... Not too big not too small. Just from the picture shes got a good trainer... Handling rope well and horse up by the halter so she doesnt trip and the horse knows first hand what she wants him to do. Hes paying attention to her too One ear cocked toward her listening. Good lesson horse is worth their weight in gold. AND AND super A++ that she has a hard hat. Even while leading.

I always worry I have seen good and bad in lessons.... But the lessons being just for her is such a self confidence builder... I started riding at twelve back in 67. I was painfully shy back then.

deb

 

[Sweetpea3829]

Oh what a cutie patootie.... shes going to be doing that free dismount as soon as she is ready.

You are doing a good thing for her.... Horse is an appropriate size too.... Not too big not too small. Just from the picture shes got a good trainer... Handling rope well and horse up by the halter so she doesnt trip and the horse knows first hand what she wants him to do. Hes paying attention to her too One ear cocked toward her listening. Good lesson horse is worth their weight in gold. AND AND super A++ that she has a hard hat. Even while leading.

I always worry I have seen good and bad in lessons.... But the lessons being just for her is such a self confidence builder... I started riding at twelve back in 67. I was painfully shy back then.

deb

I adore her instructor! He is seriously the best. That is his own personal horse and he offered to do lessons for DD when I approached him, even though it wasn't what he normally does (he normally starts horses).

He is quiet but firm. Never gets upset with her, or annoyed by her mistakes or by having to repeat himself repeatedly (she has some receptive language issues). I know how frustrating it can be to teach her and, ashamedly, have not had the same success as he has with hiding my frustrations. He's great.

We discussed in her last IEP meeting the possibility of hiring a math tutor for her, but it would mean canceling her riding lessons, as we cannot afford both. And the school even agreed with me that the riding lessons are way more important for her. She needs math, yes. But horseback riding gives her a sense of accomplishment and that is so much more important. Right now anyways.

Best decision we've made for her. Hands down.

 

[perchie.girl]

Ooh double plus.... he starts colts.... and as faulously as he is with her and you getting along so well. IF you decide to get her a horse He would be able to really evaluate and suggest a suitable horse for you.

You did double good ma....

Math will come in time. Confidence has to start now.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Math will come in time. Confidence has to start now.

deb

I want to reiterate this... When my son was going to school he had problems with other kids bullying him. He never told me. Because of that he missed out on some of the basic mathematics teaching. This trickled down through high school.... He kept telling me he diddnt really "get" math.

If I had known... If I were able to do something.... there is no guarantee he would have "got it" before he was ready. I had to keep reassuring him that he would have an "aha" moment either through an excellent teacher he clicked with or just through reading.

That aha moment came AFTER he got his associates of Science degree and when he decided to go for an Bachelors degree at San Diego state.

Hes gone on through HE-double-hockey-sticks in self doubt. But in the long run because he worked hard and found an avenue of interest hes now taking Advanced courses in physics Mathematics and carrying a 3.5 average at San Diego state. He wants to be an Astronomer.

People tell me why I let him go for such a degree.... Where will he use it.... Hes wasting his time... and money. In which case I tell them what they can do with their opinions. Because ultimately its his life decision not mine. He is blossoming right before my eyes and I am stunned that I actually had a part in raising such an individual. What he does with it, is his life path I am happy as long as He is happy.

deb

 

[Sweetpea3829]

I want to reiterate this... When my son was going to school he had problems with other kids bullying him. He never told me. Because of that he missed out on some of the basic mathematics teaching. This trickled down through high school.... He kept telling me he diddnt really "get" math.

If I had known... If I were able to do something.... there is no guarantee he would have "got it" before he was ready. I had to keep reassuring him that he would have an "aha" moment either through an excellent teacher he clicked with or just through reading.

That aha moment came AFTER he got his associates of Science degree and when he decided to go for an Bachelors degree at San Diego state.

Hes gone on through HE-double-hockey-sticks in self doubt. But in the long run because he worked hard and found an avenue of interest hes now taking Advanced courses in physics Mathematics and carrying a 3.5 average at San Diego state. He wants to be an Astronomer.

People tell me why I let him go for such a degree.... Where will he use it.... Hes wasting his time... and money. In which case I tell them what they can do with their opinions. Because ultimately its his life decision not mine. He is blossoming right before my eyes and I am stunned that I actually had a part in raising such an individual. What he does with it, is his life path I am happy as long as He is happy.

deb

DD has dyscalculia (math dyslexia) and is also probably mildly dyslexic. She has visuo-motor integration difficulties and spatial awareness issues. Along with the receptive language weaknesses and ADD (no H).

She struggles with ALL of school, but her biggest weakness is math. At 8 years old, she is still struggling with counting and ordering numbers up to 100. She has very little conceptual understanding of numbers. She gets that 5 stands for a quantity and can represent it correctly, but she still doesn't really get what "5" means. She doesn't get how numbers relate to one another and cannot tell you, consistently, whether 5 is more than or less than 95.

I *think* that she will overcome many of her weaknesses as her brain develops cognitively and she begins to attain the ability to think and reason in the abstract. I think a lot of her struggles are related to a delay in her cognitive development and that eventually, learning these concepts will become easier for her.

In the meantime, its a struggle. Some days she's on track and other days, like today, she forgets what comes after 12.

In contrast, my son (7) will be two full grade levels ahead in math by September, assuming he sticks with his plan of working on 3rd grade math over the summer. He's finishing his 2nd grade math curriculum within the next few weeks and we needed to decide whether to forge ahead with 3rd grade, or wait. He chose to forge ahead. We'll see how he feels about that when May hits, lol.

He is, overall, a very well rounded student. So far, he has excelled in all content areas. Science, History, Language Arts...you name it, it comes easily for him.

DD does have something that DS does not, however. She has a fantastic personality. She's very sweet and kind and giving. It comes naturally to her, while DS has to really force himself to be that way. He is naturally self-centered. In fact, he thinks he is the cat's meow and has a difficult time tolerating when others are elevated higher than him. Actually, some of his character traits drive me batty because he can be very uppity. He's not been raised to think more highly of himself than others, but he does. Its something we're working on. DD on the other hand, is very humble and gracious. She's a sweet kid. <3

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Just keep chipping at it.... I am sure there will be reverses and leaps forward..... a challenge for sure... The hard part is to keep from comparing the two and inadvertently making it a competition.

I have a girlfriend who's two children are quite different.... But she instilled confidence in each.... One is now married and the other has Aspbergers she is going through culinary school and wants to be a baker.... Very detail oriented person routine for her is a necessity....

deb

 

[drumstick diva]

Your daughter sounds like a great youngster, I'd be very proud to have her in the family. Her personality traits ' beat' smart & uppity any day.

 

[ozexpat]

So here is whats happening in our world

Mrs Oz is currently at the screen printing shop.

I have ordered a slew of cocobeach shirts. The price is soooo cheap compared to small runs here. I will take over a couple of over size shirts for those I owe favors too that are of the cuddly persuasion.

I have been concerned that the pigs are not gaining weight as fast as they should be. After having Bernie tape out the pigs in inches (girth x girth x length)/400=lbs I realized that I was wishing that the pigs were older than they were. I have to be careful not to wish my life away. It is moving fast enough.

The goats are very happy in their new digs. I will one day build them a jungle gym but for now there are more important priorities. I will see how caprino goes with our local doe and feta before I jump in and get more milkers.

The quail are still all doing great. No signs of any weakness. They should be feathering up well and will have the brooder light off during the day on Thursday. They will keep it on at night for 9 more days then get the move to the quail condos. They will get 11 luxurious units between them. As soon as they start laying we will sex them and reduce the males to 2:7

I am hoping to get partridge eggs from the chukar in the next month or so. They and the guineas are quite seasonal but the season should kick in soon for both of them. The guineas are a great mix of colors. I may try and add albino chukar this year.

The native chickens are growing in numbers. We have about 18 adults now. There are always mothers with a few chicks roaming around. Its hard to keep track of them as they can fly 20+ feet into the air. At the moment they are sacrificing themselves to the pots of neighbors instead of the imports.

Our turkeys continue to be decorative. I am hoping they will hatch a few poults this year. The poults will end up in a coop if they hatch. Last season I took over a few eggs without luck, I plan to hand carry peafowl goose and turkey eggs rather than golf bag them. I will be on the lookout for local suppliers. A half a dozen peafowl geese and turkeys will really add to the beauty of the place,

The pigs will outgrow their pens in the next few months. I have to get the fence finished so we can start on the piggery.

I have only been back three weeks. It feels like three months. No wonder I am expecting 150lb pigs.

 

[hillfloweranch]

OZ are you in PI or here in Cali ? I lost track?