We Saw The Sun!

I pulled out Spotless who was COATED in mud. He acted all spooky which is totally unlike him. I did some moving his shoulder and making him back up and then tied up him and started brushing him. The dirt came off in clouds. So nasty. Melissa arrived and took Dazzle to the arena (I had already tacked her up for her) and Spotless spazzed. I had him half brushed, but being I'm pregnant I wasn't going to stick close if he was being stupid. He pulled on his rope a bit, but I had it tied to twine so he couldn't break the lead-rope (try this trick, it's awesome!). I told him he got to be alone if he was going to act like that and I went to the arena to watch Melissa ride. He whinnied a little and pulled his rope more and tried to be a drama king. After a few minutes he settled down and stood quite until I was done photographing Melissa and Dazzle. I finished brushing him, took his tail out the bag (and forgot to put it back in when I put him away), AND I tackled his mane! He had that long gorgeous mane but he had ripped a lot of it and it was FULL of mud. I brushed it best I could, cut about 6 inches off, then sprayed it with water (which he stood tied for like nothing), and then brushed it to the wrong side. I cut it to it's about 5 inches long, then brushed it back onto the right side. He looks all grown up now! I saddled him up, but on a bridle, side-reins, and lunge line and took him to the arena. I asked him to move out and he...took off down the arena. He ran the length twice before letting Ashley catch him (I wasn't gonna chase a bratty baby pregnant). He didn't try it again, but he fought the bit and look atrocious. Once he settled down and trotted nice and stopped fighting the bit he looked adorable! He looks like a TB. He looks like a horse now! Unfortunately, the camera didn't want to take a picture by then, so the ones I have to post are adjusted from very dark and don't look good. We'll try again another day. This was his worst work session in probably a year. I hope he's got it out of his system! I'm hoping for nice weather like today for awhile so I can get him worked everyday and then he'll be himself again. I want him an angel for AJ to get under-saddle.






Melissa worked Sparkles after Dazzle and she was like a different horse from the last session! She was forward! Melissa didn't have to spend the whole session driving her forward like last time so she could concentrate more on her roundness. Sparkles looked relaxed, she had floppy ears, a soft eye; it was amazing! A very promising ride for sure. It was dark by then, so no pictures, but next ride I will try to get some.

Dazzle had an AMAZING day! She was stiff at first, going like a horse with peg-legs, but after about 2 minutes she relaxed, started using her back and rear and looked SO good. She was reaching from behind, tracking up at the walk, etc. She did canter both directions and Dazzle was forward enough without rushing that Melissa could ask her to go on the bit. It was probably the prettiest canter I've seen from Dazzle. Melissa said there is a show in March we could hit if I wanted. That's how good she did. Instead of waiting till the April show, hit one in March because, basically, Dazzle is ahead of schedule in her progress.






So, it sounds like the plan is to hit the March show doing 2 Training tests, not sure if she's going to try a 1st level yet. Probably not yet. A couple Training tests would be a nice start to the season. Maybe she will sell at the show, you never know. I can't imagine how awesome she'll look in another month. If the weather holds and Melissa is able to ride her several times a week, she'll be pretty much solid Training level by then and they'll be able to start seriously preparing for showing First!

Finally Some Dry Ground!

Melissa has been waiting for footing to ride here. It's been a rainy foggy week. Feb. 8th finally allowed for riding! Of course as soon as we headed out to pull out a horse, the guy that rents the hay field next to the arena came out to plow with a tractor. It was really loud. Then, the neighbor's big hairy white dogs came over and were wandering back and forth by the arena. Daz didn't seem to upset by the tractor; she sees them all the time every year, but the white dogs were really distracting and she really wanted to stare at them.

Trudy had taken a lesson on Dazzle on Friday and Melissa had done an intense lunging session beforehand, but she had enough of a break not to be sore last night. She was not a happy camper though. She didn't want to bend, didn't want to flex, and generally looked unhappy and stiff.



She did a little canter, but Dazzle preferred to look like a llama, so she focused on getting bend in the trot.



Last, she worked on Halt, on the bit. She was being really stubborn about that. A few sessions ago they had to work on halt, no backing up. She didn't pull that at all, but she sure didn't want to halt on the bit.



It wasn't a great ride, but I just remember how far she has come. And, a bad session means progress is around the corner.

Finally, VIDEOS!!!

Okay, go to YouTube.com and search "Dazzle Me Again" and you will several videos of Dazzle! I finally got a program that allows me to use the files on my video camera and it converts them and puts them on YouTube for me, it's awesome! I just have Dressage on there so far, gonna have to get someone who rides Western to ride for a video to show her Western Pl. I will post when that happens and let you know!

Another bit of news is that it looks like we found someone we trust to get Spotless going with a few rides and to send Britches and Mister to for a month each! So, as soon as there is decent footing consistently they will be going to the trainers! WOOOO! Then, Melissa will school them Dressage and they will each do at least one Dressage class and then be officially up for sale. If they don't sell with just the Dressage showing they will attend the Ride (not Spotless) and be sold there. If he doesn't sell, Spotless will show and get his Dressage COA which should sell him no problem. All their prices will go up with the training and showing, so if you're interested in any of them, let me know now!

Sparkles - accomplished Distance horse (no recorded miles unfortunately, but has done the Chief Joe every year since she turned 4), 15.3H, 2002 mare I think, done parades, cows, playdays, and now schooling Dressage. I believe they want $3000 and that will go up after she cleans up at the Dressage shows with her beautiful gaits!

Mister - coming 4 yr old, bay with a rump blanket gelding, about 15.2H, currently has 3 rides on him and a bunch of ground work. $2000 as is, or will go to trainer and show and do the ride and his price will probably double.

Britches - coming 4 yr old, very foundation gelding, was started showmanship and did show it once (won his class), but has sat for a couple years now. Rump blanket, about 14.2H or so and should end up stocky enough to carry a large adult. $1500 now, or will go to trainer, show Dressage and attend ride and his price will double at least.

Spotless - coming 3 yr old, normal papers, but not a lot of color right now, almost 15.2H already! Half TB and bred for Dressage and circuit showing. TONS of ground-work done, ready to start under saddle. $1800 now, or at least $2500 after he starts the show season. If he earns his COA in Dressage and is schooling First Level his price will be at least $3500 or more. LOTS of promise, VERY sensible, SUPER smart, but in a good way, and retains training like I've never seen before.

Dazzle - coming 5 yr old, rump blanket, you guys know all about her! $4000 now, or $6500 at least by the end of the summer after finishing her Dressage COA, getting solid 1st Level and completing another 100 miles by attending the Chief Joseph Ride again. She would probably sell on the ride if she goes.

Life Changes

I came to the realization the other day that I'm not going to be able to afford to send Spotless to a trainer AND support a baby. So, he is up for sale. I'm going to get him started walk/trot/canter and hopefully that will get him sold. He is a sweetheart and trains EASY easy. He's going to be an awesome show horse, at least for local level if he doesn't cut it higher. I'm currently listing him at $1800 and I'll bump it up when he's going under saddle nicely. $2000 or more depending on how he looks.

Then, the other day I started to realize that along with tightened finances I'm not going to have time and energy to ride and show like I have in the past. Which means Dazzle will not get to earn all the awards and things she has the potential to. I never keep a horse I can't bring to potential, I just can't bring myself to hold a horse back. So, I've made the difficult decision to put her up for sale also. I'm asking $4000 for her.

Dazzle did SO well this weekend at the lesson with Patricia, and then for an 11 yr old that came to see her, that if she doesn't sell before the show season starts I will finish her COA by hiring Melissa to do it and then raise her price mid-summer. List her at about $6500 or so. If Spotless hasn't sold I'll have her ride him in at least one show and depending on how well he does, bump his price up too.

Wish me luck! I don't plan to rush, I want to make sure they both find the perfect match for them.

Faith, Ashley's mare that I technically own, is also up for a new home, but I already have a list of people interested. Ashley is just too busy with school to keep up her riding and I realize I won't be able to afford more than one horse now, let alone 3. So, the plan is we find a new home for Faith, sell Spotless and Dazzle, and then buy an already shown horse that Ashley can use for 4H and I can show in the local stuff and just have fun on. Something that has already earned what they need to so I could never show and it wouldn't hurt their value and I could leave them sitting for 2 months and just get on and go. However, Dazzle still fills that bill; Melissa rode her for the first ride in 2 months last week and she was an angel. A little lazy maybe, lol. She is such an awesome horse, I will really miss her.

FINALLY some decent weather!!!

There was finally decent weather a few days so Melissa got a chance to ride Dazzle. They had their best ride ever! Then I paid for Melissa to get a lesson from Patricia on Dazzle on Saturday and it went really well. I videoed it and I'm working on getting that onto YouTube, edited of course because you can't put a 45 minute video on there.

I took Spotless out and reviewed all his training. I lunged him with a bit and side-reins and saddle and he was awesome. I had Ashley hang in the stirrups and stand on a bucket next to him. He is so ready to get going. I'm working on finding someone to start him by the hour because I don't think he'll need a whole month and I'll be able to hire Melissa to ride him.

Melissa got a ride in on Sparkles, also. They started out looking horrible and by the end of the ride looked pretty decent! I took some pictures. She is going to come along quickly if the weather stays nice enough for her to ride regularly here. Look at the difference between the first shot here and the second; that is only about 15 or 20 minutes of riding in between. Melissa is a miracle worker!!!

The Five Horses We Meet In Life

"The Five Horses We Meet in Life"
This is an email that's been getting forwarded around and I thought I would join in answering.

1. The Intro Horse.
We each came into horses in our own way, but it was always with a horse leading us. This might have been a friend’s first pony, or perhaps it was a draft horse on a farm you once visited It might have been a real-life meeting, or an imaginary one.

I really don't remember NOT liking horses, but according to my parents when my dad rented a pony for my 4th birthday party I wouldn't stop talking about having my own. I just remember being annoyed that the lady leading me didn't let me gallop and jump the logs in our big back yard. I was the birthday girl after all!

2. The Experimental Horse
Once you had crossed the line between “Darn, they’re big!” and “Wow! Can I try that?” you found yourself face-to-face with the horse that would suffer through your early attempts at figuring out the whole horse experience … wherever this horse came from, he probably didn’t benefit from the encounter as much as you did.

This is probably the lesson horse I rode most of my career at Royce Stables in Walla Walla, WA. He was a hardship registered Pinto gelding that was on his 3rd or 4th career teaching Dressage. When I started taking lessons on him he was at least 18 as far as anyone could remember and by the time he passed away a couple winters ago he must have been at least 30 and some counts put him at 33 yrs old. He was sway-back, stubborn, slow, heavy on your hands and dead to the leg and I loved him! He was a pro at putting up with little kids and their lunge-line lessons.

3. The Connected Horse
The first horses we meet don’t really connect with us, nor do we with them. Those are experiences in survival and tests of endurance. The Connected Horse is the first horse you truly bond with. This is the horse that sounds a chord that lives so deep in you that you might never have heard it otherwise.

I would say this is Cas, Spotless's dad. TB OTTB, treated like trash after his decent career and came to me skin and bones. He was AMAZING! I had no idea what I was doing taking care of a stallion and he was one of the easiest horses to keep and handle I've ever had. You could canter on a loose rein through the fields with a mare in heat. He was my dream horse. He passed away only 6 months after I got him, which was decades too soon. His front ankles both broke, just like the famous racing filly that died last year. The vet had never seen anything like it. They said it must have been an old racing injury or caused by injections or something. He was an awesome horse and his son sure has his loving, sensible temperament.

4. The Challenger
Into each horseperson’s life, a little challenge must fall. You’ll have read that one final training book, bought yourself a clicker and heading rope, and there you’ll stand, arms crossed, assessing the situation as if you actually knew what the situation was. It might be difficult to believe, as you are flying down the aisleway on the losing end of a braided cotton line, but you actually need this horse in your life.

I think several horses have been this one for me.

Lady Ghirardelli (Delli), my first horse. 14.3 H, 11 yrs old, Appy/Arab/Hackney mutt mare. She would buck me off and go cantering away. She escaped from her stall the first night and sent us running across the fields in the dark to find her. By the time I sold her she was going Intro Level and was so well-behaved she went on to be a successful 4H show pony.

KT Copper War Rebel, my first ground-up horse. 15.2H, AQHA gelding, bought him as a yearling. He was an easy start as a late 2 yr old, but got more challenging as the years went by. I sold him at 4 yrs old when he made it clear he was NOT going to be a ring show horse, nor was he a fan of Dressage. He went on to be a competitive Barrel horse from what I hear.

Amigo Flame, favorite horse so far. 13.1H, 1/4 Shetland, 3/4 Arab pony. Bought him as a barely handleable 3 yr old stud prospect, got him gelded (when I got him home in the day light it was apparent ALL 4 feet turn out!). I had a great time teaching him. By the time I sold him only 8 months later he was a kid's show-pony. AWESOME little man. If you see him up for sale, SNATCH him up! He stormed the trails like an endurance horse, shined in the show-ring, and took everything in stride. He was a great all-arounder prospect and is now started in jumping by the current owners. He is the one I've sold that I would take back in a heart-beat.

5. Your Deepest Heart
There will come a time when you will look at yourself with a cold, appraising eye, and you’ll have to be honest about your continued ability to deal with The Challenger and other difficult horses. At that point, you’ll seek out the horse that will be your soul mate forever… You’ll have bought him the most comfortable, best fitting equipment… Maybe you’ll still go to shows and ride – brilliantly or barely – in the Alzheimer’s class. Maybe you’ll just stay home. Whatever you do, one day you’ll realize that after all the money you spent on animal communicators and trainers, you only had to stop and listen and you would have clearly heard your horse’s thoughts and desires.

This may be Dazzle, but maybe not. If not, I certainly haven't found it yet. I have a feeling Dazzle will be my forever packer. She is mellow and sensible and I could see being happy with her forever. She is up for anything and will happily change disciplines everyday.

Trudy's Horses...Want to Buy An Appy?

-Want To Buy An Appy?-
Trudy and Melissa had a discussion about how Trudy's horses were doing in training. She suggested they consider selling them in the Spring because they aren't really suited for what Trudy wants to do.

Trudy has had her mare since the horse was 3 and they've been through a lot, but a lot of it was bad. Trudy wants to do really all around riding; Dressage, maybe some jumping, lots of trail-riding in the mountains, parades, team-penning and sorting, pack little kids at family gatherings, etc. Just, anything and everything that strikes her fancy, like I do with Dazzle. Her mare is an awesome horse; long legged, sweepy stride, beautiful rare Appy color. But, she doesn't have the temperament to sit in a pasture all winter while there is 5 feet of snow at Trudy's house and she gets really hot and hyper at the gaming days. She needs a job big time; 6 days a week, hard work, lots of challenges, and she'll go really far. She is built to do Dressage, hunt seat, Jumping, play in Western pleasure for the show-ring, do trail class. She is good on the trails, but really her pasterns are too long for endurance riding that is timed. She does fantastic on the Chief Joe because it's all walking and she has the stamina to go all day. But she wouldn't hold up to cantering over that rough terrain. So, She will be Training or 1st Level Dressage and starting Jumping by the Ride this year and will attend the ride with the goal of selling her at the end. So, if any of you are looking for a sport horse like this, keep an eye out for her on the ride or email for Trudy's info. Her bloodlines are on Allbreedpedigree.com, A Lucky Kiss. She is 15.3H and 7 in the Spring I believe. They paid $2500 for her I think as a VERY green 3 yr old. She is the marble colored mare on Melissa's training blog.

Horse #2 is Mister Lucky Again Jr, 4 in the spring and about 15.2H I think. He is bay with a rump blanket; very flashy. Melissa and I started his ground work and did a couple rides on him in the fall and now she has been doing more ground work with him. He is a half-brother to Sparkles, the above mare. He looks like a circuit horse; hunt seat/western pl/Dressage. He only has a few rides right now, but will be ridden most days after about March and will attend the ride probably as a rental horse to be sold at the end. He is way cute, but not for a beginner. His personality is not puppy-dog. He needs a competent human that knows how to discipline and he will excel. They paid $2500 for him about a year ago as a barely halter broke coming 3 yr old.

Appy #3 isn't in training with Melissa yet. His name is Powder My Britches and he is foundation bred. He is small, I think about 14.2 and he is 4 in the Spring also I believe. He is chestnut with a rump blanket. His dad was a tank, so they expect he will really chunk out. He was in training as a yearling with a lady that worked on halter breaking and lunging and showmanship and they won a showmanship class at a local show. However, since then they have none NOTHING with him, so Melissa will be starting him over again in March or April. He has old bloodlines, mostly endurance as far as I can tell, so he should make an awesome mountain trail horse. He will be attending the ride to sell at the end also. They have probably $3000 in him by now with the training and boarding.

Trudy and my father-in-law will be entertaining offers over $2000 for each at the end of the trail ride.