Updates on the Horses

I know these pictures are blurry I apologize. Finding someone around here to take a picture is near impossible, not to mention I hate having my picture taken. That is one thing I loved about having the summer camp kids . They were all great for taking photos of on my training horses. ~laffs~ Anyway here is Jasmine. She is doing great. She stands rock solid now for saddling, untied. I can throw my heavy saddle up there like an old broke horse and she doesn't flinch. I don't lunge her or round pen her or anything just put my foot in the stirrup and ride off.

The weather hasn't been cooperating with me at all I am going to have to take all the panels down in the arena. None of the horses need them anymore. The first couple of weeks all it did was rain and I mean pouring rain. Now it has been up in the 90's. I have been riding late evenings, late enough that the mosquito's are bad and I need the lights in the arena. I wouldn't ride my own horses in the heat and the humidity so I don't with the clients horses either.

Max is about at the same stage as Jasmine. He is still needing more work on gives to the bit. He has the longest tongue I have ever seen on a horse. If he doesn't want to give to the bit he reaches his tongue out all the way to the buckles on my reins. It is the goofiest thing I have ever seen. His movement is pretty good and he gives when he wants to. You have to be persistent I expect alot more from him. We really need to get outside. Hopefully tomorrow and the next few days a few long trail rides will make a world of difference.

Boomer is coming right along as well. Saddles up nice. He is having his moments with giving too, but I am working on it. Yes, we are working on learning to bow. I am trying to think of another cue so if you think of something different that isn't going to give the farrier fits please call and let me know you guys. ~grinz~

I will keep trying to get pictures..... Hope everyone is surviving the heat wave

Take Care

Jasmine's Progress

I will be the first to admit Jasmine has been a real challenge for me so far. She is a wonderful horse. Smart, personable and friendly, but there was a mishap where she got scared or something when her owner was starting her. She threw her leg over the saddle and Jasmine bolted or bucked or both and her owner ended up with a concussion. For over a week now I have been working just to lift my leg on the left hand side. I can get it on the right hand side (I always try to do everything equal on both sides) I can even put weight in the right stirrup and start to step up. On the left I have tried just about everything I know. I have spent time just lifting my foot starting with inches to get to the point where the top of my foot can touch the bottom of the stirrup. She is spook proofed so that is not it. You can swing things all over and above her. Then I decided to lay her down. So far I have her bowing the next stage will be actually laying her down. I seemed to have gained some confidence with this work as you will see in the bottom picture as finally I am able to step up on the left. I am so hoping this holds and progress will continue from here. This foundation is so important.

Max's Progress

Finding a photographer around here is near impossible and it is usually when you are dirty, sweaty and worn out, but here goes. This is just an update on Max. I have spent some extra time saddling and unsaddling him. He had an "incident" prior to coming here with saddling so was a little leary. I noticed it more with unsaddling. He is much improved now, but still not standing perfectly still while loose like I like them. I will keep on working on it. I have been stepping up in the stirrups and that has gone well. He has been way more upset about the bit in his mouth than anything.

Max

This is Max, we will call him the Wonder horse for now. He is another 3 year old owned by the "Trottier" family and here to be started. I think even he "wonders" what he is up to. While we were outside taking "arrival" pictures of his partner Jasmine, we heard this loud Crash in the barn and this is what we rushed in to find. Luckily Max remained calm and cool throughout and was just hanging around. First I came up with the great plan of putting the Rubbermaid water tank under his back feet to try and give him a little leverage to help him the rest of the way over the stall. He got one of his hind legs over. He was totally and completely stuck then. Like I said. We were fortunate he was calm about this. Had he decided to get upset and freak out he would have really banged himself up. Chuck quite unhappily did about the only thing you can do at this point. Got his saw and cut the stall down around the horse. In all the years of owning and training horses this was the second time he has had to do this. Believe me when I say he still isn't happy about the first time which was just a couple years ago. Max didn't flinch a bit while the power saw cut through the boards. In fact it was hard to make him help to get out of the predicament he was in. He finally did some sort of nose dive cutting a little chunk out of his lip somehow. He had some minor rubbing to his inner I guess you might call it his flank area ? and a small scrape on his right hind. When I first saw him hanging there I was certain it was going to be a big wreck, considering what it could of been I think Max came through with flying colors.

This little escapade had however used up my training time for the evening by the time it was all cleaned up and he was all checked over.

The next day I used my chiropractic school skills ~grinz~ checked him all over. He was out in the hip area this seemed to have been something that was long term not just from his stall adventure. Once I got it back into place he was backing around following me, bumping me with his butt like, ooooh that feels so good do it some more.

I did some round pen work. Mostly outside and inside turns. It appears someone has done this work with him before. I am not certain if the owner mentioned that. It is not extensive, meaning he doesn't want to come in to me right away or seem to know what it is about for sure. His attitude is coming around. So far so good.

Jasmine

This is Jasmine a 3 year old filly that belongs to the "Trottier" family. She just arrived and is here to be started.

Boomer

This is "Boomer" he is a 3 year old and belongs to the Rott family. He is also a son of my stallion "Karmas Kadilac" I may be a tad partial, but I think he is fine looking. He definitely has Kadilac's temperament. Jim called and asked if I would take the horse in for training. Well, first he asked if I wanted to buy him, but lets skip all of that. I agreed to take him in for training. Jim said, "You are going to be mad, he isn't even halter broke." I could only laugh. Jim has sent horses here for training before, two of them even, he knows better. We all get too busy sometimes. He put a halter on him, loaded him up in the horse trailer and brought him that very same day. We unloaded him, led him into the barn and into a stall. This horse hadn't been in a barn or stall before either on top of everything else that was new for the day. I am putting it all towards the great temperament of my stallion at this point. ~winks~ At first leading him back and forth to the arena was a bit of an adventure I will admit. Considering him as a three year old that isn't halter broke. This boy is a champ !