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.

Spotless Has A Spot

Spotless needs a new barn name; he developed a SPOT on his right shoulder. I found someone to put rides on him, but we're having trouble coordinating. He got one ride on. He is nervous about the getting on, but then is fine. Once Anthony was on, he was great. Walked, halted, turned, and backed even. Even stood nice for him to get down. We just have to get past how scary it is for someone to swing their leg on.

Both Spotless and Marigold are doing well just on pasture, which I am NOT taking for granted. I am enjoying scrubbing buckets knowing I don't have to buy hay all summer. We'll buy our winter hay after the ride, so they are being pretty cheap right now.

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.

2011, You Crept Up So Fast!

2010 was quite the eventful year! Dazzle went into training with Melissa Matiko and she sold to the most AWESOME home. Spotless was started by a local trainer, but then sat all summer when I couldn't find an exercise rider. I had a BABY! I bought a kid's horse. I rode the kid's horse and regained my confidence that had disappeared by not riding for about 10 months. I missed the ride. I met Andrea and Aaron and Izak and Meredith; the wonderful family free-leasing Marigold. I attended NO shows as a rider, but two as a cheerleader!

What does 2011 hold in store for me? I don't know, but I have hopes! My plans are:
Spotless will go back into training with a friend and get broke-broke, as we put it.
Marigold and I will take Western Pleasure lessons and attend some schooling shows together.
Marigold and Meredith will attend a show or two together and be absolutely adorable!
Spotless and the trainer will attend some shows and bring the legacy of his wonderful sire to a happy end.
Spotless might be sold.
I might free-lease a broke-broke horse to have a 2nd riding mount.
I hope to attend the CJTR as a cook-crew member and get to see Dazzle in action there with her new owner.
My mother-in-law will take lessons on Marigold. (she will be a busy girl this year if everything goes as planned, lol)

I don't know how much will get to happen, but I hope I get to do everything I have planned.
Part of it depends on finding trainers that I'm comfortable with and that click with my horses and finances, part depends on finding a job and part depends on finding a baby-sitter, lol.

Melissa Matiko, my friend, riding companion, coach, and trainer of the past few years has graduated Uni and gone home to Canada. We miss her already! The hope is that she will come back to clinic here in the future and we plan to visit her this coming summer at her home. My project this spring will be finding more riding friends I guess, as it's not near as much fun to ride alone!

Spotless Is Home

I brought Spotless home the week after Desmond was born. He had a bad stone bruise and the fact that it wouldn't stop raining kept it from healing. I put a boot on him and that horrible green medicine that stains everything. It finally stopped raining and within two days he was completely sound. However, he'd spent about 6 weeks laid up with the bum hoof.

I hired a lady to continue his riding since Melissa is so busy I see her for about 10 minutes once a week. I hauled him to a mutual friends house because she owns a round-pen. The lady, Ahni, round-penned him a bit and then got on. He took off. No bucking, no wringing tail or angry ears, just running. She got him stopped and as soon as she let his head go straight to took off again. We were shocked since he'd NEVER done that at the trainers. By the end of the session they were walk/halt/walk with no taking off, but it was sure unsettling those first few seconds.

Ahni had to be gone for 2 weeks, but as soon as she returns she'll be working with him consistently. I'm going to lunge him everyday for a few days before she returns and hopefully he'll be himself again. Melissa and I put our heads together trying to figure out what could be his deal and our only guess is that since he was off a bit at the trainers the last few weeks the trainer was trying to get forward and he couldn't really give it. So perhaps he is just giving that forward now and he thinks that's what he's supposed to do; run run run. He seemed confused that she didn't want him to run.

Ahni wasn't worried and Spotless didn't look scared or mean, just confused, so I think they'll be going along great within just a few rides. I think she gets back this coming weekend, so hopefully I'll have more to report soon.

Triumphant Return

Spotless is home! I picked him up this afternoon, we got his feet trimmed and he's now eating dinner in my newly re-fenced paddock! He's grown, I'm going to have to measure him again. He needs a little weight and he has a stone bruise in his right front, but he should be good to ride again in 3 or 4 weeks, as soon as the stone bruise is gone. The trainer said he never tried to buck/rear/bolt and was a good boy. So, now we just have to get brave and ride him when his foot is healed.

Update on Spotless

I talked to the trainer today and he said Spotless is doing great. No bucking/rearing/bolting, nothing naughty at any point. He said he's a bit lazy in the round-pen and when he ponied him down to the big arena a couple blocks from their place and ponied him in there, he was FAST and easily kept up with his speed horse that he was riding. He said he seemed to enjoy opening up in there. So, he's definitely his race-horse daddy's son! I like the lazy most the time part though, sounds like my kind of horse! He said the only annoying thing he does he push his nose down into the bit. If that's the worst thing he does, I think we're good.

So, when he gets home I'm going to de-worm him again, get his feet done by the normal farrier, have his teeth checked (since he's 3), have the accupressurist check him over, and put him on grass pasture to make sure he is fat to be schooled by Melissa. Hopefully he'll be back in time to get registered for the Dressage show the 12th of June. That's the only local one so I really wanted him in it. He'll be doing Intro B most likely. MAYBE Training II, but not likely with only a couple weeks of riding before hand. We'll see. I miss him, I'm looking forward to having him back. I'm excited to get to ride him before he sells. I bred him and trained him all myself before sending him to the trainer, so it's exciting to see it come to completion in a broke horse!