Pictures Of Quills First Ride :) Yay!

I usually always have a camera with me to record training sessions BUT I left it in my purse the day I went out and got on Quill & Traveler for the first time :( Thank God Jeanne caught a few shots...I am soooooo in love with this horse. He is just absolutely going to be a great one! Now granted just because they were good one day doesn't mean its going to be like the next time BUT I have to trust my gut on this one....I think all I am going to have to teach him is to give his head and whoa on cue. I don't think I will ever get a buck outta this boy. I think he is the rare "born broke" kind. He is only 3! He has the personality of a follower & a pleaser. I think this willing nature is going to prove that Quill (named for the feather like blaze & ink drop on his nose) will excel at anything someone puts him too. I think he would look beautiful in English Tack and as soon as I am sure he is willing & complacent as I am betting him to be I want to tack him up in English...I bet he is going to look very handsome & refined :)

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Milo, Quill, Cheyenne, Traveler

 Yesterday I spent most of my day out at HHH. I pulled 3 of the new starts out Milo, Quill & Traveler to get them under saddle, bridled, lunging, and I laid across their backs. They have a ways to go but they are on their way to being broke. I was impressed with each one. They are going to make some fine riding horses. They are all so friendly and enjoyable. I also worked with Cheyenne (not knowing she is completely broke) I lunged her and tacked her up just like the greenies. If I would have known she is completely broke I would have ridden her.

Video's from the day at Horse Haven Hollow

 

Traveler

 

Quill

 

Milo

 

Cheyenne

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Dallas & Jasmine

 Dallas

Last night I had two wonderful experiences on these horses! First I rode Dallas in the arena at a walk mostly, I did get him to trot for a bit on my own but Jeannie had to come in and put pressure on him from the center of the pen...he is just REALLY lazy in the round pen. He is a very bumpy trot. Later I left the pen and went to to the pasture with him since all his buddies were off in a different pasture. I hopped on and he started to go towards the gait to the buddies pasture and Glen quickly shut it...he paced up and down the gate I turned him around and we went for a nice gallop along the fence. And just when I though it was his all...he showed me he can move even faster...but guess what it was like sitting still...it was the smoothest gallop I have ever ridden...he does NOT respond to well to the snaffle bit, probably used to the more popular western style bits of tomb thumbs,curbs, or something with shanks. But all in all it went fine. And guess what NO BUCKING at any gait...it was nice!

Jasmine

So then we decide that went well so why not catch Miss Jasmine and take a try at her. A little background on this horse. Well first off she is a sweetie :) Second off she is not broke. Last year Jeannie started to work her and she bucked her a couple times, and the last bucking fit left poor Jeannie unconcious and then training was suspended...so Jeannie snatches her from the pasture and she goes into the round pen. She is a little afraid, jumps a bit at the rope, so I take a moment to just calm her down. I precede to just saddle her up like it has been done everyday for the past year or so and she does great. Same goes for bridling her. I can tell she is nervous a tad but nothing out of the ordinary so I decide to just go with her energy. I don't do any groundwork as far as free lunge because I don't want to build up her anxiety level. Some horses are best just left calm and relaxed. She didn't show any disrespect towards me, she was just a little nervous. So I jump up there and just sit for a moment and reassure her and then instead of kicking her or squeezing her I rock to kinda knock her off balance and make her move...she starts out and I give her a few minutes to realize I am up there before asking her to turn and she does great! I went to dismount and I think I must have hit her rump with my foot as I was coming off and she jumped forward out of fear but I quickly regained my seat and she did do one attempt at a buck...I pulled her head up with my trusty leadrope attached to her halter and then it was over and off we went again. Nothing more bad happened...in fact it was a very enjoyable pleasant ride. Her bucking is out of fear, nothing more...so as long as her little rides remain calm, pleasant and enjoyable her confidence in the situation will increase and her fear will disappear. I think she is going to be fairly easy to break...

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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.
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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/

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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.






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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.
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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!

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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!
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