My girls coming home

It looks like my girl will be coming home on the 12 of April right after our clinton anderson tour stop in Redmond OR. I am so darn excited I can hardly stand it. She comes home one week from the first Gymkhana. Yes we will take it slow but were going and I am super excited to get out there and ride my good horse.

More training

Well cross communication happened today at our barn, mom told me she wasn't putting the horses in and I said ok. I then decided to take another day off...Well whent I got to the barn the horses were in..So since I was late I figured what the heck lets go ride in the old garden... We were going along and you could feel him wanting to do something of some sort. I kept changing directions keeping his attention focused on me. Then he let out a sigh and dropped his head, but he was tricking me into thinking he was relaxing. He then bolted forward into a trot, I caught him and we started spinning circels of course to the left hehehe...He will learn to go left one of these days...After that he started listening and doing as I had asked. My brother is new to riding but been on a few horses and on a few trail rides. I asked him if he wanted to claim on but I would keep a line on him. I know Zip well enough to say that he listens to me on ground and comes right out of a trot. While my brother was riding I observed a very confussed, uneasy and nervos horse. He isn't used to someone that dosn't know how to ride something he will over come. My brother around 10 mintues then claimed off, Zip even thou uncomfertable handled himself well. I told mom for now experienced riders on him, or a line with new riders untill he is used to him. My brother wants to get on the trail but he has to wait for the babysitter horse to come home...Yep my mare is miss realible...

The new gelding

All I can say is I miss my already trained mare but I love a challange so its been fun...I have done 3 great rides on him. I was really nervos the first day but we settled in together and are doing great... I have him trotting now and it is learning it great... He dose not like to go left, heck were almost neck reining to the right already!!! We worked around cones, ground poles and a barrel and he is having fun..I can tell his heart will be in the trail however...He hates any type of pleasure work, if his mind is thinking then were good...I plan to ride him on wen. then thur morning then let my novice brother on him... My brother isn't a complete novice but dosn't have lots of hours..This horse was bought as an extra horse and so its time for him to get used to new riders...He was well started when we got him, however he sat for a year but it is coming back to him quick...

There Off

Well I justs watched the trailer pull away, my mare and the gelding securly snuggled in for the next 7 hours. I took some pictures this morning and will post them later. I brushed her a bit so they still show some dirt but not a lot. She stood like an agnel for the pictures even got her ears up for one that is a mircle she normally dose what we call donkey ears expression. Finally got the right combination in her stall for her Dry Stall, Dryden and Shavings and her stall looked wonderful this morning. I was very pleased!!! She will be gone for over a month so it may be a bit quite on here. However while she is gone I will be putting hours on a new horse who will be our spare horse. Supper excited to meet the new guy on Sunday, he is another Araloosa. Our other one needed a lot of chiropractor work, light rider and light riding. He is going to the lady we are getting our new horse from, ( we traded another mare for the new horse plus a breeding to one of our mares ). We are putting our gelding in her care on care lease, she has a light rider that wants to do some riding. She also has local access to a chiropractor unlike us who has to travel to one. She said that if he dosn't work out she will turn him loose on her 30 arceas with the broodmares. It is nice to find a good retirment home for him I sure am going to miss him we have had him for close to 5 years so it was a sad day at the barn.

Testing

My mare loves to test the waters every once in awhile... She knows what the word stand is and she chose today to act like she didn't know what it was. I eneded up having to put her halter on and giving her a lesson on what it ment. She quickly pulled her act together and stood like an angel. We got the post in for the new cros fence just got to them set in the ground before they can go out and play. Dolly has settled right down into her stall and loves it again. I pulled her off of hay today, she wasn't raised on it and would rather waste it then eat it. It makes cleaning her stall a joke in the morning and its not fair for her to have to sleep in it even though she makes the mess. Right now she is getting Alfa pellets with a complete feed and that should be good for her. She leaves for one month on friday I am going to miss her.

Wild Horse

Well when mom got off work she hitched up the trailer to bring Dolly back to the ranch. I go out to catch her and she decided to wanted to play instead of being caught it was so damn cute. We played for 5 mintues and then she let me walk up and catch her. Then we loaded her up and headed to the ranch. She was snorting and dancing around but I thought what the hell and jumped up figuring she would settle down. Umm nope she was a ball of fire waiting to explode on me. So I go off and decided that I would turn her lose with the gelding for a bit and then take her into the barn. Since I had to go to work I left her halter on her making it easier for mom to catch her since somtimes she can be a challange. She tore across the field neck arched tail flaring, if I didn't know better I thought she looked like a darn Arab. She got to play in the field for a while and then mom had a hard time catching her. She is currently in her stall still full of energy, looks like the lower field will be closed to maintance of a new cross fence she it will be lunging time for her for a few days. Wish me luck, I might get to go for a ride on Wen. my aunt don't work and she said we might haul out. I don't get excited over things like that becuse normally they don't happen. However, I have to get that extra energy off of her. She hasn't been on a trail ride since her main training quite a few years back. I did a little bit about a year or so ago around the ladies property but never with other horses and she was used to the area we were in. So it could get interesting to say the least.

not much

There hasn't been much going on around here... We got the new stud pen up for Buggs so he should be going in it today. I plan to take my mare back to the Ranch as she has been at home the last few weeks. I will put her in the the stall and turn out daily, I also am going to try and get some weight on her for some reason she dropped weight and I can't get it back on her.

Barbara

Buggin Doc Hollywood

Buggs AKA Moose made it home safe and sound. He hasn't been handled since September and had never seen a trailer in his life. After roughly 2 hours he loaded up and was ready to go. He handled the 5 hour ride without a problem even with a few stops along the way. Without much problem he backed out of our 2 horse straight load like he had been doing it his whole life. The colt we hauled down did wonderful to, he hoped right into the trailer. Buggs walked into the barn and into his stall all tired from the trip. I was able to brush him down and get a lot of mudd off of him. He is much bigger then we thought he would be and looks really good.

Loading the colt

Today we worked on loading the colt into the trailer, he has hauled once when he was 1 month old. He is in for a 5 hour haul tomorrow, he did great going in and out he only panicked a little bit inside the trailer. Tomorrow we will be off to drop off the colt and pick up the new one.

Wet and Rainy

Well another day of rain and more rain.... We finished our second stall in the barn tonight!!! Our colt got lead in and shut into the new iso stall. This one is built as a weaning stall, it has 8 foot walls and a 5 foot door. This stall will also be used to get horses used to stall life that are not. We are planing on putting a small wire screen on it but it will come in time. Our horses are let out daily and handled all the time. We plan to cut down the rabbits and continue rebuilding the barn. We hope that by next winter each horse will have its own stall, our pasture tend to get muddy and really wet in the winter so it will be a nice change.

I swear....

Ok, I have said this serval times but I think I am going to do it from now on..... A blooger I speak to told me its a great way to keep a journal of what is going on around your place and what you have done with your horses. As I have sat here and read things I have blogged I forgot I even done that.....

Dolly is weaned and in our backyard doing wonderful.... She is be leaving to go down south in a few weeks to get bred. She will stay down there for a month, I sure will miss her.

This weekend were headed down to trade Jester ( Dollys 2009 foal ) for a 2008 AQHA Bay Stallion. He is from the ranch I worked at and I imprinted him at an early age. He is very frindly and very nice. He has a better pedigree then Jester and should breed in nice with our heard.

Winter Wonderland

Ok, so the cold spell is over and I am supper excited. I mean I know a lot of you go through a lot colder but up here in Northern CA were not used to it. I mean water in the rabbit barn was frozen it was insane. My horses thought they were dying and I hardly spent anytime with them... Well now were back to the good old Del Norte County Sunshine ( what we call rain around here ) and I am loving every minite of it.

The horses are all snugly in there blankets enjoy the good life, because they know when it rains mom don't ride. My mare has been on hold for a long time now and I am just itching to get back in the saddle with her. Her colt needs to be weaned, however he will be a challenge and so it still hasn't happened.

I have decided after many hours of thought, many different feed dishes and many pounds of feed wasted. My mare will know eat out of a food bag on her head. It will also mean she will not have to stand in the mud the create by there feed dishes every winter. Our gelding will also dawn one to, he likes to run everyone off there food and spill food in the process.

Pictures of Jazzmine

Just thought everyone might like to see a few pictures of Jazzmine my angel...

One less horse

Well we just got home from Red Bluff CA, we dropped of our mare Lunar Shadow So Fair to her new home. She is on a breed lease and will more then likely become a perminant home. All the horses are doing wonderful, all have there blankets and looking at us like where did this frezze come from!!!

Well heres another promise to keep this updated!!

Barbara

A big delay

Well, I don't know what to say about this long delay in posts. I seem to be slacking off considering my last post was back in October!!!!

Well November has been a great month, I have done a lot of different things with the horses and I am super excited. Well start of the month mom pulled out of the driveway for 2 weeks with the trailer in tow off to a national rabbit convention.

For the next 2 weeks it was me and 7 rugrats. Before work and after I was at the ranch feeding horses and making sure they were all ok for the night. More then once I was out there putting blankets on in the dark. Yep, we got some very spoiled horses.

I decided to tackle my mom's gelding that has been out to pasture. He has a limp from a bad accident at a trainer so he don't get ridding much. So I pulled out his saddle dusted off and rode him. He did wonderful, I put 2 rides on him in the pasture without much problem and then I went for an adventure to the neighbors. His old owner/breeder, he just loves to go over there to visit and the minute he knows where he is headed there is no stopping him!!!

Then at 9am I received a phone call from a friend who was having issues with her bridle so I drug myself out of bed and drove over there and fixed the problem. I asked if she wouldn't mind me tagging along on the trail ride and she said sure. So I drove to the ranch caught him up, tacked him and hit the road. We made it to the trails alive and ready to go, until then I always had the understanding that the horses mood from the start of the ride will show you just what kind of ride you will have. Well he was calm, level headed, and just plodding along then all of the sudden 45 minutes into the ride he realized that he was out in the world and that we needed to have fun. Did I mention that is was wet, muddy and raining on the trail!!! So here we were, just enjoying the ride and he decided he could fly ( that is what I call his rearing games ), nothing major just throwing himself up not far from the ground. At one point I dismounted and lunged him from the ground and got him listening to me better. I got back on and he proceeded a lot more willing but still a ticking time bomb. The trail we were on were just continual loops through trees and then he learned that the main road was and he was determined to get back there. Well once he was listening and not rushing to the road. I rode to the road, got off uncinched and gave him a pet. We were at the point going on a 2 hour ride, and I knew it was time to call it a day. I walked home because he was being so well I didn't want anything to happen on the road to ruining what I had accomplished. We walked half way home, then we stopped by the neighbors and talked a bit he happily grazed and hung out. Then we finished the rest of the walk home and called it a day. He did so wonderful I was super proud of him.

Then I decided it was time to teach our 7 month old filly how to pony, so again I grabbed the gelding and took off in the pasture. The filly and him did wonderful so after 10 minutes I got off let her go and got back on. At this point he thought he felt good enough to completely rear on me and I slid right off of him onto the ground!! I wish I would have been able to get him completely over but he is so good on his feet that he caught himself.

I have been working with my mare off and on just counting the days tell the foal is weaned and I can really start working her. She is doing wonderful, we have mastered the walk, trot and canter on the lunge line a big hurdle for her. It has been so wet that I haven't done much with her besides just walking around and a bit of lunging. I pull the gelding saddle on her and it fit her better then my western its a Aussie saddle. My old trainer has a few saddles for sale so I might take a look and see what I can find but not sure just yet what I am going to do. The first step is to put my mom's other saddle on her and see how it fits it will tell me what to look for her.

Alright off to bed good night.

Another great day

I got her out today and she was amazing, nailed all the reveres without a hitch. Then we worked on the dreaded walk, she hates that gate but she is going to love it. Once I got her walking on the line and chaning directions without speeding up and then we called it a day. A few more days and we should be going good.

After a break

I decided to give her a break after our adventures out to the Gymkhana. She did wonderful, plus we finished up the pasture fence and got her moved into her own paddock and she is much friendlier and wanting to please. I got ahold of my old trainer and I asked him his advice on her head set. He suggested I get a German martingale ( his verison of it ) and so I went and bought one from him. I know its just a quick fix but for events and such I think it will help her a lot. I rode her the other day in it and I see a lot of things come to the surface. I decided to hang the saddle up for the next few weeks.

What I noticed, she is very hard mouthed ( thanks to above trainer, but I know it will come around ). I trained with him and learned alot and wouldn't trade it with the world but I didn't like everything. He insisted on having contact at all times and I prefer a lose rein horse. She is a Western horse not an English horse.

She needs a visit from the Chiropractor, I think that will fix some problems. I want to make sure her head raising at a canter is not a result of pain. We are sticking to slower gates for now, they don't seem to bother her. Once we clear that up it will be back to faster gates.

She needs a lot of biting up on the line to learn to give to the bit better, she hasn't had much work in over a year and I think it is time to pull out the surcingle and go back to square one.

Plus my saddle, isn't the best saddle for her. She needs I believe a semi and I got full quarter bars. I plan to put moms saddle on her and see how it works. Then it will be on to find a new saddle, my saddle has been through a lot in the last almost 5 years.

Yesterday I got her out, without her baby who was just on the other side of the fence. I dummy tied her to the trailer so that if she flipped out she wouldn't get hurt. She stood there like an angel not caring about her colt. I groomed her, clipped her up and made her look like someone actually dose groom her. The whole time she stood there only a few minor issues and her baby was on the other side running around screaming his bloody head off.

I learned something else about her, instead of fighting her when she gets scared them minute you see her start to act out stop. I know this goes against everything I was taught but with her it is the best way. If you show her that is no reason to get scared, and she will stand there. Normally when I fly spray her it is a rodeo for a few minutes. But yesterday when I did it everytime I seen her think about backing up or start flinching I stopped talked her and reapplied the pressure. The same result came in the end, she stood like angel. So I have to options, give into her or fight her.

After the grooming session I took her out on the lounge line, and my handy stick. I started lunging her and found the first issue that needs to be fixed. She doesn't like to change direction, she will pull back, run the same direction ignoring me and act like I am going to beat her. I worked her solid on changing directions at a trot when she did it twice without a second thought I stopped and called it a day.

Today I got her out brushed her out and got a shorter line ( 8 ft instead of 12 ft ) and a smaller whip to work her on changing direction. I let her pick the gate as long as she was listening to me, of course she picked the trot. We only had 1 major blow up on the changing of directions, a huge improvement from yesterday!!! I worked her for a good 10 minutes and called it a day she was doing so good.

The plan is to lounge her for the rest of the week on the shorter line and smaller whip and work on stop, turn, maintain said gate, and to change direction without flipping out. I think the changing direction is going to get her on her hindquarters more so should be a good thing. I think plan on adding the tack.

We survied

We got up at 7am and headed out trying to beat the crowd to the arena well they had the same ideas as us. We got Dolly and baby caught without a hitch, blanketed her and fly masked her and put fly mask on baby he looked so darn cute. I lead Dolly out of the pasture thinking the colt would fellow suit. Well that didn't happen and for the very first time I walked up to the trailer stepped in and she followed right in normally you have to get someone behind her!!! I put her in shut up the trailer and went and helped mom get the baby out of the pasture and into the trailer. I had his head and mom gave him a shove and he jumped into the trailer without a second thought. We made it to the fairgrounds and settled them in for the day. We picked a nice quite stop kinda by everyone but a little out of the way and made sure in an emergency we could get out. I am so used to the Gymkhana's and it is sometimes the only place I get to see people and hangout so I ended up leaving mom alone servel times before the event started cause I wanted to go visit and she had the colt to deal with. We got to the gymkhana about 830am and the event didn't start tell almost 11 and she stood tied to the trailer almost the whole time. So when it came to the first event we were up by the gate and that is where we stayed the rest of the day!!! They both didn't care about the different people or what was going on. Dolly did wonderful first her ever Gymkhana, I believe her first time being around a show setting of any kind, ( correct me if I am wrong ) and having her colt there. I did the first 2 events wonderfully, we trotted a little and lopped home. There was some acting out but nothing major, I kept her under control the whole time. Then came the dreaded event that always confuses the heck out of me Skill barrels. You have to run up the area and then weave around barrels that are set up long ways and then come home. Well poor Dolly had never seen this event in her life and so we take off up towards the barrels and she just freaks out slams on the brakes like she had never seen a barrel in front of her before and needless to say I however didn't stop forward. I ended up going over her head and landing almost on my feet but my bad hip couldn't take it and just gave out. I crashed hard and since I was running I had looped reins and my hand got caught and she yanked pretty hard on my bad shoulder. She bolted for the gate at top speed of course and so I got up dusted myself off and walked up caught her and got back on. I took her out of the gate away from her colt and everyone and made her feet move. And I wasn't nice about making them feet move either. She was huffing and puffing but the end of our 5 min. lesson. When I went to take her back anytime she nickered she got backed and it took a good 10 min. to get back to the gate area. I only did this because she knows better then to bolt after a rider dismounts and I want her to know that was not something I wanted to her to ever do again. If she had just did her normal walk away towards the gate I wouldn't have cared. But to run full speed a head like an idiot I think not, luckily it was the second to last event. So the next event was barrels which she knows best and loves. I knew I could get her through that course without a problem had it been something else I don't know if I could. So we go in and she takes off but by the second barrel she was determined to get me off again by acting stupid, she however never bucked or reared. I managed to keep her going and when we came around the last barrel she knows to pick right up into a lope and I checked her back and made her walk most of the way home when she relaxed I let her lope to the rest of the way. Its really cute because she hates to walk and she had her ears pinned tell I let her lope. I walked her out of the gate stepped off loosened her cinch and called it a day I was so darn proud of that girl she did wonderful for her first show and she ended it well. I took her over to the trailer untacked her and gave her a quick hose down got the excess water off her and blanketed her. She was exhausted but enjoyed herself and all the attention. This is the first of many to come, I think each one she will get better and once the colt is no longer with her she will excel faster. He by the way did awesome to, he did throw his fits but by the end of the last event he was standing quietly outside the gate waiting for mom-- another wonderful way to end the day.

Excited

Well yesterday I went out and got pictures... Sorry haven't gotten them updated yet, but hoping to get video and pictures from tomorrow!!! Even thou its an in town show I always pack lots of things just incase.. so the trailer is load with extra halters, bridles, different levels of bits, 2 girths and such. The hay and feed will go in tomorrow then its off and running. Yep it all starts at 7am I can't hardly wait.

Barbara

Bad Day

So I went out planning on having a wonderful morning with my mare. Well it went to hell in a matter of mintues. She restored back to her ranch behavior of I am not going to let you catch me, corner me or bribe me with food. I was so frustrated, I fed the other group breakfast and kept her back with a lunge whip. When they were done I left the pasture totally ignoring her, when I came out with the other groups feed in the lower field she nickered and walked up towards her dish. So I walked out, with a food dish in my hand and when she started eating it I petted her, asked for a leg and had her fellow me. I didn't push the issue any further than that, I gave her breakfast ( she is the alpha mare so I can get away with this ) if she hadn't let me come up and mess with her she would have been left tell dinner. It wouldn't have hurt her our horses are not on a schule because we need to know if there is an emergency there not going crazy or colicing because were late. We do the same thing with our rabbits. Then mom goes out tonight was able to catch her without a problem ( go figure ) and fitted the new bit on her. So she decided to jump on her bareback and see how she worked in it. This was moms first ride on my mare ever, guess she did good for her, so I was glad that the day ended with what I intended it to start with. So it is 2 days tell the gymkhana. I plan on riding tomorrow, getting her blanket washed and giving her a quick ride and bath on Friday. Then it's show time. If everything goes as planned pictures will be added tomorrow of her in her gymkhana attire!! Orange Headstall, breast collar, and saddle pad cover then green boots and reins!!!