Dallas & Molly From HHH

Sunday evening I went out to Horse Haven Hollow and got the pleasure of working with two horses. The night started off with the big ol' boy Dallas...free lunged for a little bit did great...showed no disrespect...was really quiet and had a willing nature that was relaxed & peaceful...the entire thing went so well we decided to just see how far ol Dallas would let us push him...saddled him up and after a few times laying across the saddle and riding around on his side while standing in the stirrup I threw my leg across, he sat there like this was all old business to him...Jeanne who had been helping some adopters returned and lead me around the ring in both directions...not an issue for him at all...so next visit Dallas will be bridled and this time I will hop on and hopefully see what he has to offer :) hopefully it's all nice stuff...

I didn't really "work" with Molly but I did ride her first and take some of the spunk off before her new adopter Ashley could take a spin. What a nice riding little mare. She hadn't been ridden in a year so the first few minutes was just her running around blowing off some steam but she calmed down and acted like a horse that had been ridden everyday for the last year. She has a "let's go" attitude which is so nice versus laziness...she responds great to direction and let Miss Ashley have a good time. I am just so impressed with the level of gentling these horses have had. You would think they would be basket cases coming out of some of the situations they have been exposed too but they all seem so calm, complacent and act just like "normal" horses...all in all it was another good evening working with the horses at HHH.
Visit herdbound.net for more equestrian and horse info!

Ice Cream The Whoa is Me Story In Progress

Well this morning I returned to work with Ice Cream after about a week hiatus. I was a little worried that I would find her back to her old ways having such a big break in training. She wasn't as bad as I thought. Her owner told me she had worked her in the round pen and was pleased with Miss Ice Creams join up and she is showing more respect but she refused to "whoa" for her. I worked her on free lunge and could get her to stop on "whoa" and cues from my body language. I am not letting her face me as of yet due to her little "charging episode" the last session we had. I worked her for awhile and then proceeded to mount and she is standing still and moving out on cue almost perfectly BUT yet again she walks right on through a whoa. I tried doing the one rein stop and yes she did eventually twirl to a stop...so tomorrow I will return to ride her some more and work on the "whoa" issue...this time I am going to make her go, go, go until she is begging for a "whoa". I want her to be looking forward to stopping tomorrow. Other than that little thing, she is turning much better, standing great for mounting and dismounting, she is moving off on just a cluck/kiss...her progress is GREAT! I will update tomorrow and see if the new approach works out...hopefully it does and we are VERY close to just doing a lot of riding and working out the wrinkles.
Visit herdbound.net for more equestrian and horse info!

Join Up With Rain - It's A Beautiful Thing!

I spent only a little over a half hour to get her to Join Up with me. Which is pretty freaking amazing :) She is a skitterish little thing. And at times she is a bull headed bucking bronc ask her last trainer who thought this little lady broke his back from one of the most vicious bucking sessions he has had to date. She may just be more of a "ladies" horse. I rode her in the Alumni Parade and had only one little spook when the crowd started to clap for the band...she whirled around and almost caused mass panic amongst the horses. They were all saying "oh no! something bad is happening" and were about to bolt as well BUT she calmed down and we preceeded to finish the parade without incident. She has bucked my son several times...as for me not really...she does get a little stubborn and try to get her head down between those knees at times...BUT so far she hasn't bucked me yet...but now that I typed it...will probably do it! This is one of my favorite excercises to do with a horse to get a bond they understand established. It isn't a "save all" but it does help a few things click in their horsey heads. All in all it went very well. You notice I never strike the horse with the whip, I will crack it and strike the ground...that's all that is needed to get most horses ear on you and their legs a moving.
Visit herdbound.net for more equestrian and horse info!

First Day At HHH

Well it was a typical first day on the job :) I got to work with two wonderful horses - Mick & Milo. Both came from the same deplorable conditions and were seizures. Well they are complete polar opposites on the scale. Mick is timid and flighty, Milo confident & steadfast to stay put. Did a little round penning with both here are the details from the day:

Milo : (3 year old sorrel Quarter Horse) Caught fairly easy, walks on a lead fairly easy, a little drag behind in his efforts. Got him in the round pen and was going to attempt doing some round pen work of free lunging him for possible join up and he spent the entire time running around the pen pushing into the rails trying to find a weak spot to push over...when that didn't work he decided to just jump over the gate and say "bye bye"...

Mick: (4 year old bay Quarter Horse) Went down to were they were all hanging out & and Jeanne actually caught Mick as he is very cautious to new people...also recaught Mr. Milo and we all walked up to the round pen. Mick went in the pen & Milo got tied up outside. Slipped Micks halter off to replace it with a rope haulter and he did a little running around at liberty without a halter. I caught him with some issues and put on the rope halter. Did a little leading and he did great. He lowered his head and relaxed with me a bit...his left side is much stronger than his right...and we got rolling on some free lunge and he did great. He is a little nervous to things like rope, ect. Rubbed the rope all over him and he seemed to calm down. Could change directions with him easily but he too tried to jump the gate and escape. So I put him on the lunge and got him to stop and face me just a couple times. Got him to also turn in towards me a couple times on free lunge but when I offered to join up he would have no part of it and would take off again....thats ok...today was kinda a day to introduce ourselves and get comfortable...a kinda orientation if you will. He displays an almost natural "collection" to his stride and will make a great "western pleasure" or even english prospect as his strides are very balanced and quite animated...really gorgeous animal. Although he is timid that is only to be expected...I predict he is going to be very responsive under saddle and as long as we teach him that no boogey man is coming to eat him up...he will be just fine...took him out of the round pen and set him free...was able to remove halter without him giving any anxious issues to be free...stood quite still and when released calmly walked away (no parting shots).

Milo again...Milo is VERY confident...not like the overly confident jerk type...he just seems to be like a horse that wouldn't move if firecrackers were going off around him while a marching band was going by. He just doesn't care about to much or doesn' seem to get to excited about much. His left side too is much stronger than the right. Ok so after our first round in the pen and Milo clearly can jump right out of the round pen with no problem I attached him to a lunge line and proceeded to try...and I stress TRY...to lunge him...lol...I have NEVER seen a 4 year old horse that is "unbroke" so dead broke to stimulus! I cracked the whip...again and again...I beat the ground...I ran around like a crazy lady...NOTHING even made him flinch...he just stood there relaxed as could be...back leg cocked in relaxation looking at me like I was an absolute idiot...Jeanne took over as she has more experience with Mr. Milo...and she used the stiff part of the lunge whip to tap him on the rump while motioning him forward with lots of slack so he had room to move off the pressure...guess what he moved for her...he wouldn't move in a circle...but he did move so baby steps are better than no steps...she told me to take over and again he was a mule for me...got some movement out of him but my habit is to try to turn them in a circle and I just couldn't keep behind his drive line...we could move forward but the slightest hint of a circle and all momentum stopped. He would turn and turn and turn his hind quarters like a champ and around and around we went :) Next we brought in the riding block to see if maybe being as steadfast about stimulus he would just accept weight on his back. So Jeanne held him while I laid across his back...at first he started to fidget a little and I patted his opposite side I slowly released my weight onto his back and guess what...he didn't care for it and moved :) Not exactly what we wished would happen but at least we found something that agitates him enough to get him moving a bit...We went back to something he can do well leading (although he does drag behind) and then ended the little session on a positive note. He is going to be a wonderful level headed mount for someone because he just has no "spook" factor. Sounds, movement, ropes, whips, crazy women, nothing bothers him...he is going to be well suited for a trail horse or even maybe a competition horse.

These horses are available for adoption at Horse Haven Hollow here in Pleasants County WV...for more information on adoption or other available horses please visit http://www.horsehavenhollow.org/

Visit herdbound.net for more equestrian and horse info!

Training Checklist - What Every Horse Should Know!

Ok I am taking on a BIG project. I am going to be assisting Jeanne at Horse Haven Hollow with retraining, and starting a whole lotta horses...We are talking a HUGE project but it is going to be so worthwhile to know that in the end horses that are unadoptable are going to go on to live out nice lives being cared for one on one by a human being who will appreciate the foundation we lay down over the upcoming weeks...soooooo...I thought it would be a good time to get organized because organization is going to be key in keeping track of progress in each horse AND looking at the big picture so we can plan out a time efficient strategy  to get them done in the "right" way with out skipping over key spots in training just to get them adopted...we are in a way determining their future just as our teachers in school did for us.

So in my head I know what a horse needs to know to be well mannered and a pleasure to be around and easy to enjoy. That is the real key in a horse surviving and thriving in the human world. They need to be pleasant and enjoyable to be around. The better "get along" they have the more options they will have at surviving and not ending up on the dinner plate somewhere in Europe or being neglected because their owner fears them...so here goes the list of every skill each and every horse should have...and each skill should apply to both sides of the horse (saving myself some time by not having to type it saying right & left)

GROUND MANNERS & HANDLING
1. Should be pleasant to be around in general and display no aggression towards people entering it's areas..(ex.pasture,barn stall, it's own personal space)
2. Catches easily: If you have to run after a horse everyday it makes it hard to enjoy it at all.
3. Can be haltered with ease.
4. Can be lead like air floating alongside you almost like a shadow. Noone enjoys being jerked around or feeling like they are connected to a powderkeg about to explode.
5. Can be handled easily for daily tasks like grooming.
6.Can be tied without fidgeting around or pawing, jerking, or circling.
7.Can be bathed without fear.
8.Can be sprayed with flyspray or other necessary horse maintenance articles.
9.Can have all 4 feet picked up easily and worked on without threat of bodily injury or herking jerking fits.
10. Can stand quietly when asked to do so.
11.Halts smoothly and easily.
12. Respects your space and does not push itself into yours.
13. Can move backwards as easily as frontwards.
14. Can be lunged at a walk, trot, & canter.
15. Can be halted on the lunge without coming in.
16. Can reverse on the lunge easily.
17. Stands quiety while saddle & blankets are applied.
18. Lowers head for bridle.
19.Stands quietly for mounting. Displays no forward or backward movement.
20.Moves out on cue.Moves at a walk/trot/canter easily on cue.
21.Stops on cue.
22.Turns left/right with only gentle pressure.

That pretty much is the basics every horse should know when "finished" enough to be a pleasure to be around. There are of course a HUGE list of things that a horse can go onto to be finished to the fullest...neck reigning, dressage work, collection, all kinds of higher levels of training. But these are a good start to having a horse people can ride & enjoy. Of course this little list is no small task. And along the way I will get NONE of the things listed above without trust and respect...so those two things are the beginning to getting everything accomplished. Since I am going to be working with animals that have been exposed to the absolute worst examples of human beings in the world, my task becomes even harder. Tonight walking around the pasture there were so many scars and old wounds on these horses that stand as a reminder that these horses have had a pretty rough start on life and their experiences have been nothing less than horrific. So that's first priority gain their trust and earn their respect.






Visit herdbound.net for more equestrian and horse info!

You Take The good, You Take The Bad and There Ya Have Horses!

Ahhhh the joy of a good day with a horse can so quickly be forgotten when a bad day comes up. Ice Cream tried me for the first time today on two occassions. She snaked up on me and thought very hard about charging me. I knew she did it to other people but I thought I had gained enough ground on respect that she wouldn't try me with it but she did. Lesson learned with her...don't forget she has that in her. I have had so much easy going progress with her, for her to show such disobedience and downright nastiness towards me I was a little heartbroken, felt like betrayal from her in a sorts. When she came at me the first time I sent her off out onto the rail to think about what a mistake it was to try me. Then after a little while she decided she would have a second go at charging me and this time she thought she would up the force and actually started to come at me. The first time I checked it as soon as I started to see what she was thinking with her head up like a viper and ears all pinned back. The second time she puffed herself up and started to come out at me but I grabbed the whip and ran at her like a crazy person thrashing the ground and she retreated. Later on that day I did get some of the best join up I have had so far...she was even running along with me, weaving as I weaved, stopping on a dime for me. This episode just goes to show how opportunistic some horses are, and just how wise it is to be paying attention to what they are sending you in body language. If I wasn't paying attention and didn't react as quickly as I did, she probably would have got me.
Visit herdbound.net for more equestrian and horse info!

Ice Cream Learning to Stand Still & Move Foreward On Cue

 Day 2 Under Saddle: 
Learning to stand still for mounting and also learning to move forward on cue.

What a day with miss Ice Cream. After a few objections to riding today...a few little swipes with the back legs and mini bucks in the rear end ...Ice Cream calmed down and listened to what I asked her to do. She actually got it! At first I just get on and let her roam around at free will. Letting her feel me in the saddle and move forward which is something she refused to do before. You could get on her BUT then she would stand completely still which is a sign of a horse that is not broke to ride. So today I start out by getting on and she just started moving without being cued. I let her do this for a little while to show her moving with someone on her back isn't that bad or scary after all. I then kinda went in reverse and taught her to stand still till cued to move forward. On a couple of occassions during her wondering around she would stop and show reluctance to move again. I first asked with a verbal cue, then I added the pressure from my legs, she didn't really get that concept...so I did the old secret "Miss Piggy" trick. You take the reins in your hand and just flop the excess back and forth on the withers until the horse moves and you immediately stop flopping and let the horse move around for about 40 feet encouraging the horse with your seat to keep moving till you ask it to "whoa". Then you ask it to start moving forward again by using the "Miss Piggy" trick again...the times you flop back and forth becomes less and less. You must also make sure that you give a verbal cue right before you do the "Miss Piggy" trick. Before long the horse is moving on the verbal cue. So anyways I got her to move forward on cue AND she learned to stand still for the mount...Mission Accomplished!

Visit herdbound.net for more equestrian and horse info!

Thoughts On Horse Slaughter

 Foals In The Kill Pen Awaiting Transport To Slaughter

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls we would all be vegetarians"

-Linda McCartney

 I just can't get the images I have been viewing today online about horse slaughter in Canada & Mexico out of my head.. I was like most people I guess. I knew that when horses were sent to auctions there were buyers there called "killers". I knew that some of the horses sent were destined to end up in dogfood or on the plates of wealthy Europeans. I was under the impression that this was a necessary evil in a sense. That there are far to many horses and not enough quality homes and that the sick, the lame, the unwanted filtered through and found a final resting place at a slaughterhouse in a humane manner. Not that I was ok with it, it was just the end of the line to trim off the excess population a fact of horse life. I tried not to think about it too hard...and then I did some research on starving and neglected horses and as the Interent often does I found my self clicking through links that eventually brought me to a profound realization...horse slaughter is absolutely the most insanely inhumane thing I have ever had the misfortune of revealing to myself and if we live in a society that has this as a necessary evil...we have to be the most disgusting wretched form of life to ever crawl across the face of the planet.

These horses are kept in the most disgusting of conditions. They are starved, dehydrated, maimed, and treated so abusively I can't fathom how this is legal. I saw horses lying on the floor, legs cut off with hacksaws still clinging to life. I saw horses with half their faces blown off from botched shootings. Horses missing ears, missing eyes, horses with infected eye sockets, horses with holes on their sides oozing green puss. Horses so starved and so weak they fall down and can't even muster the energy to get up and if they survive without being trampled to death they are drug across the floor and shot. New born foals alongside their placenta waiting to be butchered. The "killers" outbid families and scoop up healthy robust beautiful animals with so much life left to give. They crowd them on transport trucks to drop them off at facilities that rarely abide by humane slaughter guidelines. I saw horses being stunned up to 17 times. I saw horses being shot 5 times sometimes several minutes passed between each bullet. I saw little ponies being crammed two at at a time into the kill shoot watching each other die. And for ANYONE that knows anything about horses, their herd instinct is so strong this must be HORRIFYING to be trapped and watch as your herdmates are being shot so brutally. One by one they are fed into those shoots only to end their service to mankind in such a
HORRIBLE painful way.

Our Sugarcreek Survivors

So now I am just sad and am thinking of what part can I do to make a difference. First off I have two horses here that have SugarCreek histories. One our little Sunshine was bought at the infamous SugarCreek auction house in Ohio by my cousin and I have since taken her on as mine. So she very easily could have ended up on the slughterhouse floor. I think of how much fun my sons have had with her I wonder why on earth she was ever sent there in the first place. She is only 3 and she is sooooo pretty! She is teaching them so much about being good horsemen. I can't imagine that little pony being crammed into one of those shoots and so brutally shot in the head. In mexico they don't even use bullets, sometimes it is nails or bolts loaded into a gun and sometimes it takes hours for the horse to die I can't imagine her enduring that pain and lucky for her she is a survivor of Sugarcreek and will have a forever home with our family. When the boys out grow her she will hang out and wait for some grandkids to come along and start riding.

Star's Story Saved From Sugarcreek Sale

And then there is Star a beautiful 13 year old Quarter horse who was bought days before she was to be sent to Sugarcreek. She has turned out to be a dream come true for my neice, who tries to ride every pretty day. She takes Star to horseshows and loves her dearly. Star was on her way until she was scooped up and she was spared the horror of the processing plants. Both Star & Sunshine got lucky and thier tags were passed on to other horses who were not as lucky.



Info & Links:
Here is a link to the USHS fact sheet on horse slaughter .There is a link on the page that I will provide to you as well to video footage of a horse being killed at a slaughterhouse in the kill shoot. I couldn't watch the video in it's entirety I closed the browser when the horse is shown and the man prepares to shoot it. Maybe you can stomach it I just can't:
Horse Being Killed In Canada Video 1 of 3

Video From Sugarcreek Auction House

Visit herdbound.net for more equestrian and horse info!

A Tribute Video To My Equine Friends

Here is a tribute video I made to capture how I feel about horses, what horses do for the inside of me, and what I hope I can do with them...CONNECT...ahhhh they never cease to totally amaze me with thier gentle and wonderful ways! I love horses!
Visit herdbound.net for more equestrian and horse info!

First Ride On Ice Cream

Again today I went out to work with Ice Cream and she did a GREAT job. She is showing a lot more respect towards people and I mounted her without any issues. I trotted & walked today...worked on turning...it will be a long road till I can call this horse "broke". She has spent most of her life in a pasture not being asked to do much and has developed bad behaviors towards people - she would knock you down, invade your space to the point of trampling on you, strike you with her front legs, offer to kick from the side, use her head to push you around, not listen when being handled...basicly just a brat. Her owner loves her and wants to see her have a more "useful" life and so I am trying to teach her to respect humans while being handled, accept a rider and move when asked in the way you ask...so far so good...things seem to be moving along quite smoothly!
Visit herdbound.net for more equestrian and horse info!

New Blog Feature

I am going to be adding an update to all the horses I am currently working with. Lots of pictures, videos & free how to info. ASAP!
Visit herdbound.net for more equestrian and horse info!