15 years ago
Showing posts with label colt training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colt training. Show all posts
Thursday, July 14, 2011
My Little Foal is Growing Up!
Great news; I found someone to ride Spotless and he LOVES her! The first day she worked him on the ground for 30-45 minutes, then was able to get on and she rode for at least 30 minutes at the walk. They halted, turned, and even backed a couple steps. He even let her get down without any issues.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
No More Appys For Me =(
Spotless is coming along great in training and is growing into a lovely young gelding. I decided to make a big decision and I gave Spotless to my best friend Michelle as an early birthday present. She is living with us and so Spotless is staying here, but she is taking care of him and paying for his feed and doing his training herself. She has never owned her own horse before but has lots of experience with them. I am here to help her out if she needs it, but she is getting to be a good horse-trainer.
We are getting to borrow a round-pen which is amazing! Michelle has been teaching him to ground-drive in the round-pen with the side-reins and long-lines so that he knows how to steer before she tries to ride him again. He's made leaps and bounds in that.
On Mother's Day, Michelle put a ride on him and he does best with contact on the reins and then leg contact to urge him forward if he gets confused. He did really well. They went about 10 or 15 minutes doing walk/halt/walk transitions. Then she got on him again about 3 days later and he got flustered and she ended up coming off and it shook her, so she decided to do more ground-work to get her confidence back up. I suggested attacking the issue he has with not wanting to listen to the bit or stop well to the reins, so she's been focusing on that. I am really impressed with their progress.
I had not been able to take him out of the arena much since I always had Dazzle getting my main attention, so Michelle has been working with him taking him on walks. The first day we walked over to my grandma's house he was terrified of the cows and screamed at Marigold who we left in the arena the whole time. Michelle had to lunge him in the yard and keep refusing him to get him to pay her any attention. Yesterday was our 4th walk I think, and he is still nervous of the cows, but she didn't have to lunge him at all. He just eyed them well as they walked by the pasture. She put side-reins on him to help get him accustomed to the bit since he hates it and also because he likes to pop his head up and go into zoned-out-appy-mode. I wouldn't have though of that, but it worked really well. Our goal was to make it to the road on the other side of the property and let him see cars going by.
She let him stand and watch cars from about 20 feet from the road for awhile, then we walked up and he stood next to the road for a few cars, then she walked down the road a ways and back and let cars pass by. He didn't spook at all and didn't care at all. I was really impressed with him. I've never walked him on the road before and he acted like it was nothing. Michelle was very heartened by it and I got some video of him walking down the road with a car going by.
After our successful car walk we came back home and he wasn't even sweaty, so she put him in the round-pen to show me how their ground-driving was coming. She had made some good choices in how to do it that I hadn't thought of when I'd done it before and I really didn't have many pointers. Just to use a driving whip to tell him forward when he "stalls" and not to slap the reins as the go-forward cue since you need to be able to have contact on the reins like you would when riding him. She can have him halt/walk/trot and even turn left/right. He stops and thinks about the turning, then does it. It was really neat to watch. She's getting it to go way better than how I was doing it. She has the side-reins on him, which I didn't think of, and it helps keep him from putting his head up and twisting himself up in the lines. She also has the lines attached to the top rings of the surcingle instead of the side rings and then they don't get stuck on his butt when he turns.
We are getting to borrow a round-pen which is amazing! Michelle has been teaching him to ground-drive in the round-pen with the side-reins and long-lines so that he knows how to steer before she tries to ride him again. He's made leaps and bounds in that.
On Mother's Day, Michelle put a ride on him and he does best with contact on the reins and then leg contact to urge him forward if he gets confused. He did really well. They went about 10 or 15 minutes doing walk/halt/walk transitions. Then she got on him again about 3 days later and he got flustered and she ended up coming off and it shook her, so she decided to do more ground-work to get her confidence back up. I suggested attacking the issue he has with not wanting to listen to the bit or stop well to the reins, so she's been focusing on that. I am really impressed with their progress.
I had not been able to take him out of the arena much since I always had Dazzle getting my main attention, so Michelle has been working with him taking him on walks. The first day we walked over to my grandma's house he was terrified of the cows and screamed at Marigold who we left in the arena the whole time. Michelle had to lunge him in the yard and keep refusing him to get him to pay her any attention. Yesterday was our 4th walk I think, and he is still nervous of the cows, but she didn't have to lunge him at all. He just eyed them well as they walked by the pasture. She put side-reins on him to help get him accustomed to the bit since he hates it and also because he likes to pop his head up and go into zoned-out-appy-mode. I wouldn't have though of that, but it worked really well. Our goal was to make it to the road on the other side of the property and let him see cars going by.
She let him stand and watch cars from about 20 feet from the road for awhile, then we walked up and he stood next to the road for a few cars, then she walked down the road a ways and back and let cars pass by. He didn't spook at all and didn't care at all. I was really impressed with him. I've never walked him on the road before and he acted like it was nothing. Michelle was very heartened by it and I got some video of him walking down the road with a car going by.
After our successful car walk we came back home and he wasn't even sweaty, so she put him in the round-pen to show me how their ground-driving was coming. She had made some good choices in how to do it that I hadn't thought of when I'd done it before and I really didn't have many pointers. Just to use a driving whip to tell him forward when he "stalls" and not to slap the reins as the go-forward cue since you need to be able to have contact on the reins like you would when riding him. She can have him halt/walk/trot and even turn left/right. He stops and thinks about the turning, then does it. It was really neat to watch. She's getting it to go way better than how I was doing it. She has the side-reins on him, which I didn't think of, and it helps keep him from putting his head up and twisting himself up in the lines. She also has the lines attached to the top rings of the surcingle instead of the side rings and then they don't get stuck on his butt when he turns.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Better A Late Post Than Never!
Dazzle was a shining star for Karol and her friends! We took pictures and Melissa rode her in the arena at Red Barn to show them what she could do Dressage-wise and then they loaded her into a shiny trailer and headed off! They made it home safe to Northern WA the next day.
Everyone keeps asking me if I'm sad, which of course I am because she's an AWESOME horse, but I can't begrudge her the new wonderful home she's won herself. Karol is going to spoil her completely! Turn out in a pasture, all new blankets and equipment; she's going to be in horsey heaven with her.
So, Dazzle has gone to a better place (really!) and Spotless should be home from training in a week or so and then Melissa will be riding him till he sells.
In baby-news, Desmond hadn't budged and wasn't a good candidate to manually turn him into a good birthing position so yesterday I went in for a c-section. In the pre-op room my Dr. did a last ultrasound and he had turned himself around! So I got to come home! So no baby yet, but I am starting to have little painless contractions and they haven't quit, so hopefully within the next few days I'll have a baby!
I've decided the best way to encourage a baby to come is to ignore him, so Melissa and I are going to look at a Paint gelding for me tonight at the fair-grounds. Should be fun, he sounds perfect, so hopefully he's as nice as he looks in his pictures. If we love him tonight we might get to bring him home on trial for a few days which would be really nice.
If the Paint gelding doesn't work out and Spotless sells, a friend I ran into Wednesday night offered to half-lease a gelding she has to me to share. So it looks like I won't have to be horse-less long, whether I own one or lease one I'll get to be riding somehow.
Everyone keeps asking me if I'm sad, which of course I am because she's an AWESOME horse, but I can't begrudge her the new wonderful home she's won herself. Karol is going to spoil her completely! Turn out in a pasture, all new blankets and equipment; she's going to be in horsey heaven with her.
So, Dazzle has gone to a better place (really!) and Spotless should be home from training in a week or so and then Melissa will be riding him till he sells.
In baby-news, Desmond hadn't budged and wasn't a good candidate to manually turn him into a good birthing position so yesterday I went in for a c-section. In the pre-op room my Dr. did a last ultrasound and he had turned himself around! So I got to come home! So no baby yet, but I am starting to have little painless contractions and they haven't quit, so hopefully within the next few days I'll have a baby!
I've decided the best way to encourage a baby to come is to ignore him, so Melissa and I are going to look at a Paint gelding for me tonight at the fair-grounds. Should be fun, he sounds perfect, so hopefully he's as nice as he looks in his pictures. If we love him tonight we might get to bring him home on trial for a few days which would be really nice.
If the Paint gelding doesn't work out and Spotless sells, a friend I ran into Wednesday night offered to half-lease a gelding she has to me to share. So it looks like I won't have to be horse-less long, whether I own one or lease one I'll get to be riding somehow.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Training Update!
Yesterday I got the report that Spotless got his very first ride on him! AJ got on him bareback, then put the saddle on him and AJ's wife lunged them a bit, then he rode him by himself. She said he thought about nothing more than nothing, but overall just looked confused but willing. So that is promising! Yey! With the way the weather was I think he only got about 4 sessions maybe this week, so that means he should get close to 25 rides in his month of training! Woo!
Monday, January 25, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Mister, Mister
Mister is a 3 yr old gelding that my mother in law bought last year as a two year old. I convinced her not to try to start him as a two yr old. Melissa and I have been working on him this spring. We sent Sparkles back to Trudy's house and brought Mister here. Melissa did some ground work with him and he magical stopped jumping around, walking over the top of you and rearing. She did round-penning with him at the ranch with help from Ali. THey spent 2 and half hours on him and he FINALLY turned his head in and quit bucking and kicking at them.
Melissa and I took him back Friday and took turns round-penning him. I rode him about ten minutes after doing all my "scary stuff" to him.
So, I rode him again a few days ago here in the arena. I lunged him, then Melissa lunged him, both with side reins on the bit but the lunge line on the halter. Then I got on and rode a little. He wasn't doing ANYTHING, so I had her take the lead line off. We rode walk circle-eights trying to get him to walk when I squeezed. I had to wallop and wallop to get any movements, haha. He was halting from my seat with no rein by the time I finished riding. It was about 20 minutes probably.
Melissa rode him yesterday. She didn't lunge and just got on. They walked circle eights and then he didn't want to go. He bucked! She said she was expecting it, but she still ended up on his neck. He was unphased. She didn't let him get away with it; she got back in the saddle and made him walk. He didn't try it again. So, he HAS got some spunk in him still, but he'll figure out it's easier to do what we ask soon enough, lol.
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