Day 12- On Kai for the first time

12 days before you get on a colt? Most trainers will get on in the first few days, if not the first day. However, I'm not a trainer who does this for a living, and I like to take things slow. The thing I wanted most with Kai was to gain his trust; he was so jumpy and nervous when I first brought him home - May 15th, it was. Over the last 3 months, he has come to trust me, and since I found out his physical issues on his left side and adapted my program accordingly, we really progressed.
All my prep work has really paid off. Dave came over today to hold him while I climbed aboard. Since we were in the middle of a thunderstorm, I opted to do this in his big stall instead out in the rain and wind and slippery wet grass. I had already laid over his back the last couple of days, so actually getting on didn't bother him at all.



Such a good boy. Now if only I was young and agile (Shayla!!!) I would have had less difficulty getting on, and would have slid off his rump too, but my body doesn't work as well as it used to. I was pretty happy with this session, took a while to quit grinning!
Next session, if I have help, will be to get on him saddled, in the round pen, and I'd like to go to the longer training lead line to give him a little freedom to move. If I don't get help, I'll start the next phase of desensitizing- tying things to the saddle and longing. Like my slicker, milk jugs- whatever I can come up with.

Kai, Day 11- ground driving and stepping up

Friday was busy for me; after work I helped a lady trim a big TB gelding- I was pretty tired after that so the only thing I did with Kai was to lay over his back again. Once again, he didn't mind at all. This time I put my leg up on his hip and dragged it off- no problems.
Today, I saddled him as usual- he does still step away a little but once I have saddled him a few dozen more times he'll get over that. At least it isn't a horse eating saddle any more!
At the round pen, I went straight to the long lines, through both stirrups this time. I like to up the ante a bit each time. If he was a 2 year old, I'd spend more time reviewing each step, but Kai is 4 and should be able to retain what he learned the previous lesson.


There were a few issues but nothing major. I stayed mostly behind him, stepping to the side as needed for speed control or encouragement. A couple of times he got frustrated and just turned to face me. I did get him turning both ways and backing up. None of it was soft as he was fussing with the bit; that's one of the things I like least about ground driving - it's hard to pick up a soft feel. It is the reason why I don't spend a lot of time ground driving; once I know I can turn him each way and back him up, I like to go to riding. I'm sure there are people out there who do a darn sight better at ground driving than I do, but to me it's just a preparatory tool for riding, not an end in itself. Kai was pretty light with the reins before I put the driving lines on, so I think he'll be pretty good once I'm up on him. I have someone coming over to help tomorrow, so I hope to step up on him and get led around. Today, I stepped straight up in the stirrup and down again a couple of times. At one point Kai walked a couple of steps before I stepped down, but I think it was more about finding his balance.

One for the hoof nerds

I can't really call this a training day for Kai, as we have stormy weather I didn't think it wise to try to work him- but I did try something with him in his stall. I took the metal step that I use for a mounting block and put it in his stall, then led him over and let him inspect it. I walked him into position next to it, then climbed up on it and leaned over him, petted him on his off side, put my weight on him as I was leaning, patted him all over, then turned him around and did it from the right side. He stood perfectly still for me, both sides. I turned him again, and lay over him, waved my legs around, then slid a little further over so all my weight was on him and I was evenly draped over both sides. He was rock solid. His eye was soft, and he was relaxed. Good boy Kai! I'm so proud of him and I'm really looking forward to all this being done so I can get some riding time in on him.
Here's some stuff for the hoof nerds:
The other day I was working on Beamer's feet and noticed something odd.

 Yes, complete separation of the back of the frog.

Quite deep! Of course, I was quite startled. I knew that it had to be trimmed off to avoid trapping dirt in there but I sure was not comfortable doing it. With some advice from Tara and Shayla, however, I cowgirled up and got my nippers out the next day.

Took out the center that was detached.....

Kinda freaky removing that much frog! But- it had to be done. I cleaned up more of the detached stuff.

That's where I quit on the first trim. The next day, I removed a little more from the sides and central sulcus area. Today, I did a White Lightning soak, and removed more of the detached frog. This is what it looks like now.

The last inch or so is still attached at the apex, but there is detachment still, under what is left. I'll just have to keep it picked clean until the remainder detaches, if it does.
So here is my understanding of what will happen next: This information is kindly supplied by my friend and hoof mentor Tara:
What everyone is seeing after the loose callus of the frog is removed is the "live" frog, this is what grows the frog callus. The live frog is about a 16th of an inch thick and covers the digital cushion. It is pale grey in color as you can see towards the apex of the frog where the old callus still remains. The frog callus tubule's are like little hairs and if you zoom in on a photo you can see what looks like little hairs on this new surface, this is new callus growing. Frog callus is soft and mats down in a accordion like style front to back, front to back with about and 8th of an inch per fold.. Look at the frog callus your farrier trims off next time and you will be able to see all the tubule's matted down in this fashion!
So I will keep taking photos as this develops into new frog. It should be interesting!

Training Kai- Day 10

I have the philosophy that if you increase your expectations, you will increase the results. Today, I was expecting better performance from Kai- and I got it. I went straight to saddling- brushed him, threw on the pad and then the saddle.....

As you can see, he did sidestep towards the rail, but compared to every other time this was a huge improvement. Tomorrow, I will expect him to not sidestep. A little improvement each time is ok with me, as long as he is trying.
At the round pen, I went straight to the long lines, with the off side line over the saddle for a few laps (at a nice relaxed walk, good boy Kai!) and then I let the line down around his hip and back legs. I started with his left side. He was good- he did break into a trot, but I was able to get him back into that nice low headed walk. Did this both ways, and then started drifting further back so that I was walking more behind him as if I was actually driving him instead of longeing. This was a little more concerning for him, but overall I was pretty happy with how it went.

I even asked him to do outside turns, both ways and he got it. Remember, this is still with one line through the stirrup and one line free, so I couldn't ask for inside turns. That was a good session, so I took the lines off, tightened the cinch, moved him out a step or two and put my foot in the stirrup and..... no, I didn't climb on but it sure felt like I could have. I just weighted the stirrups and bounced up and down, both sides, then came back to the left side and pulled myself up enough to get my other foot off the ground- Kai only moved when my toe bumped his elbow, once I put my foot in a better position he was fine.
Boy, did I have a big grin after all that! What a good session.

Kai, day 9- better but not quite there

Today when I brought Kai over to the hitching rail, I was determined that he was going to let me saddle him without having to use the precursor smaller saddle. Tossed the pad up- no problem picked up the saddle- eye got round and hard, he side stepped away, and then swung around in front of me and presented me with his right side. I was having none of that. Brought him back where I wanted, set up the video camera, and proceeded to saddle him. Successfully, although he was pretty flinchy.


By the way- that twine? It's attached to the off side stirrup and I use it to hobble the stirrups together when I use the long lines.
Off we went to the round pen. I asked for some neck stretches before attaching the long lines, worked from the right side first with the off side line through the stirrup and over the saddle. This time he was willing to work farther out, right to the limit of the off side line. Worked both ways, no real problems on his left side.
Then I moved on to having the off side line draped around his butt and hocks, again not much issue, just a little more goosey at first then settled down, a little more worried at first on the left side but no real problems.

Man this horse has a big motor, just like his mama! I did get him to whoa using body language and the reins , both ways, he stopped fairly well.  Anyway, not being able to leave well enough alone, I asked him to turn  to the fence and reverse directions; now this is a whole new concept because now the inside rein is through the stirrup and the outside rein is free. He did get a little worried, the head came up and he tried to leave, but I got him to stop and wait while I got the line out from under his tail (!!!) and I really liked that he waited for me to get him out of a bind instead of coming unglued- very promising! So of course, I had to do that both ways, easier the second time and quit there once he walked nicely. I might enlist some help tomorrow to help him to understand ground driving.

Kai.... day 8 The Long Lines

It was time for Kai to cowboy up. He has been saddled several times now, so I decided to saddle him at the hitching rail instead of in the round pen. I went about it as if this was no big deal, like I would with a broke horse. Flipped the saddle pad on, no problem. Brought the saddle up to him.... and he swung around to present me with his right side, nearly knocking me over, even though I was expecting it. No way, he said. So I went back one step- like dancing ; one step forward, two steps back. I brought out the little military saddle, flipped it up there, no problem, three times and he stood stock still. Ok then! Brought the big saddle over, laid all the cinches across the seat, and set it on him. He did kind of hunch a little, but he accepted it. Progress!

 Over to the round pen! I longed him, he was nice and quiet, not resistant like he was yesterday. So I put the bridle on, and worked on the rein around the hip give: he was good on the left rein- I stand on his right side and take the left rein around his hip and he turns and faces me- but when I stood on his left side and asked him to give with the right rein he was a little chargey as he completed his turn, trying to pull away from me. I tried several times but it wasn't getting any better..... so we moved on to plan B. I had brought my long lines over, so I buckled one on and asked again. Since I had a little more line, I was able to get him to face up much more smoothly.
Then on to the next step.
Setting the stage for ground driving. I ran the off side rein through the stirrup (stirrups are hobbled together with twine under his belly) and used the inside rein like a longe line. It definitely made him more focused on me as compared to yesterday in the halter when he was going around with his head tipped out.

I needed to know if he would tolerate the lines dragging behind him, or touching his hips, hocks and the bottom of his hind legs.  Apparently he didn't mind them dragging.

He's funny; I can do anything to him when he's standing still (except saddling) but as soon as I ask him to move he gets in a dither. I had the lines around his butt and asked him to move forward and he sucked his butt in and raised his head and tried to leave.... he couldn't, I had two lines attached to his bit (insert evil grin), so he had an epiphany- he can't just leave when he doesn't like something.

Life is rough, huh Kai?  I had him circle me both ways in a small circle around me- this is where that step-to-the-hip- lesson came in handy: he didn't want to move forward, so I stepped to his hip and made him move those back feet over, while suggesting that he move his front end forward and soon he was walking a circle about 6 ft. away from me, both directions.  I called it a day there, that was a lot for him to take in, but before I stopped, I did the jump beside him trick- and both sides he didn't care at all . Progress! I also put my knee in the stirrup again and this time I put all my weight there, both sides- he was fine. So once I get him past all these issues, I think he will accept being ridden quite nicely.

Kai - Day 6

Had an interesting session with Kai- I tried a trick with a smaller saddle.

This is a little military saddle that is being rebuilt- it doesn't have any rigging on it so it is lightweight and easy to swing around.
I found his zone on his left side where he moves away- it's at his jaw line. As soon as I go beyond his peripheral vision he just can't stand it. So I wasn't about to spend hours increasing his tolerance zone incrementally , so I held the little saddle at mid zone and pointed my feet at his hind feet and made him move his hip over. As soon as he stopped all 4 feet, I stopped. I'd try lifting the little saddle, and he'd move so I made it work to move. After a few rounds, he let me throw it up there. So I did that about a dozen times- all from the left side- until he just stood there as I took it on and off. After that, I got the big saddle- and no way he was letting me throw it up. So back to the little one for a few more rounds..... then back to the big saddle. I persevered and he finally let me throw it up there, and I took it on and off about 3 times before I cinched it (I was getting worn out!) The interesting thing is that once saddled, he was kind of pouty, I longed him and he wanted to carry his head to the outside and lean on the lead. It took a lot to get him to soften and behave, both directions. Oh- and I did apply oils first: Valor around his left forehead and eye socket, Release at the base of his ears and between his cheek bones and in his nostrils, and Grounding in his nostrils and on his ventral line. I wanted to give him all the benefit I could to help him get over his left side aversion. He really, really only wants to look at me out of his right eye when I'm working with him.
Once we got the longeing sorted out to where he was giving me nice circles both ways, I bridled him and had him give to the bit both ways- and also the rein around the hip trick, and backing. Heis really soft in the face! Love that. Then I held the saddle horn and reins as if I was going to get on and jumped beside him- left side first- he moved away- 2 more times and then he stood nicely Right side- didn't move a muscle. Then I put my knee in the stirrup and put as much weight as I could, both sides no problem at all. I think once I actually get in the saddle he will be just fine.
Oh- also got him a new saddle pad, a Diamond Wool.

Yeah I know, doesn't match his green theme! But it sure makes the saddle fit better. Goes good with all that twine holding the panels together! Not sure what design Ted has in mind for the tops, but I hope he does it soon!

Training Kai- day 5

My friend Tara (luvmyhrs in the comments) noticed something about Kai that may have some bearing on his left side problems.

Can you see it? Left nostril higher, left eye higher and left occipital bone more prominent. Not sure how all this relates, but I am willing to believe that he has physical problems that may well relate to his nervousness on the left side. I did do the menace response test to his eye but it seemed fairly normal.
With that in mind, I worked him in the round pen today. He had no problems whatsoever with the stick and string until I upped the pressure a little by whirling the string overhead so that it made that whirring noise, However, he settled in short order, so I moved on to saddling him up. This is where it got interesting. When I picked up that saddle, he absolutely did not want to look at me out of his left eye. He wanted me and that scary saddle in his right eye. I packed that saddle around to his left side and he'd turn his head to get ma in his right eye. I finally had my niece hold the lead rope while I tried again- no chance. But when I went to the right side.... saddled him up tickedy boo. So I think I'll just leave it that way until I can get some body work done on him when Shayla gets back from California. I'll just consider it a handicap and work around it - for now.
Once saddled, he's just fine.
I longed him first, then put the bridle on and went over the giving to the bit exercises- he had it down pat. So next up was prep exercises for ground driving- the first one I do is the rein around the hip on the opposite side, which is a follow up to the move the hip exercise I did a couple of days ago. This one was easy for him as I've been doing it with the halter and lead line all summer, he just had to translate it to the feel of the rein instead of the lead line.

After that, I worked on walking beside him and handling the reins like I would if I was riding, getting some forward movement and then picking up a rein and asking for a turn. It was a little discombobulated at first as he wasn't quite sure what I was asking, but he picked up on it quickly. I also asked him to rein back. I'll do this for another day to make sure he's got it, then I'll introduce the driving lines. I have some nice biothane driving lines. It will be interesting to see how he handles that given his worries on the left side.

Kai day 4

Just a short post because it was a short session. And a good one! Today I opted to just work him in his "stall"  (if you can call 20' X 40' a stall) because the weather isn't cooperating- showers and thunder boomers off and on all day.
I only took the stick and string in with me. I put Kai in his regular halter and lead, and stood in front of him and started slowly flipping the string from side to side. At first he got all worried and tried to cut left and right, but I made him keep facing me (thanks for the tip, Shayla!) and in about 2 minutes, he just stopped.... and it was all right. After that, he just let me do whatever I wanted with that ole string. Of course I didn't pressure him up too much by being aggressive with it, just kept up with flipping it around all over the place ,all over him, and even wiggling it on the ground beside and behind him.

I dropped his lead shank and kept working for a little while- Kai never moved a foot. Good boy Kai! Yesterday's lesson really paid off. Another day of doing ground work like this- I'll up the pressure a bit- and then I'll go back to saddling him- and I sure hope he stands still for that! I'm looking forward to ground driving him.

Kai day 3: Finding the fear

It was an interesting day today.
 I found out what Kai is afraid of.
If you read my last training post, remember I said that today's session would be sacking him out, to try to discover what sets him off. I've been having trouble saddling him, so I needed to find out why.
My arsenal today included a towel, a feed bag on a stick, a lariat, and a stick and sting.
You'd think the scariest thing would be the white feed bag on the string, but it wasn't.
First off I started simple- a towel, rubbing him with it, flipping it up on his back, around his legs, over his head, flapping it vigorously beside him. He pretty much took it in stride.

Yeeeeaaaah  not so scary.

Next item of torture was the feed bag. I figured for sure he'd get all worried with this one!

Mmmm smells like oats! 

I worked with this for a bit, and really was happy with how he did, even with the wind flapping it around and all he handled it quite well.


After that, I moved on to the lariat. A little more concerned, but Kai didn't take flight at first. I rubbed it on him, hung it off his head,

and picked up a loop and flipped it over and around him; laid it on his butt and then he moved out- not too scared seeming, just not sure what he should do.
 A couple of rounds and he was ok. I swung it over my head and he was fine until it made "that" noise- the whirr of a rope in action. I stopped that and went back to flipping it around him until he stood still.
Then it was stick and string time....
and a whole different story emerged.
I started out just showing it to him, and he was immediately on guard. He did let me rub it all over him, but wasn't nearly as relaxed as with the other items.

When I started flipping it up on him he took off, and what I did was just hold the rope, let him go around and keep the stick in the same position it was when he took off. When he stopped, I lowered it. I backed off on the pressure a bit just to see what he could handle. If I had the stick pointed at the ground, and just wiggled the rope, he tolerated it but was wary. If I led him and had my back to him and flipped the rope from side to side as I walked, he tolerated it. But if I whipped the rope in any direction ( I never whipped it at him at all) and it made that whistling noise, he lost it. Around and around, with his head up over the rail as though he was looking for a way out.


Once he worked off some of that nervousness and was willing to trust me a little, I brought him in closer and worked within his limits. I'd shake the string, and he'd move his feet, and as soon as he stopped moving, I'd stop what I was doing. I managed to get a very short video of that just before my camera ran out of battery.

By then there was a thunderstorm rolling in, and we had been working for about an hour, so I didn't bother with my plan of saddling him- that can wait for another day. What I want now is to build his confidence in me. I think he must have had a bad experience with a whip somewhere along the line that taught him this fear. By the end of our session, he was licking and chewing, and coming right close to me instead of leaving. We ended on a really good note; I think he figured out that I am not going to hurt him; I'm not trying to scare him, but I am also not going to give in to his evasive behaviour and let him continue to flee his fear. He is looking to me for leadership now. *Insert big grin!*

Wordless Wednesday

Schooling Kai- day 2

Today, I went straight to saddling Kai. As before, he didn't mind the saddle pad, but when I went to lift the saddle on, he got all nervous and kept stepping away. Again, I went to the right side and was able to get him saddled with only a little fuss. Kai seems to really have a problem with things approaching him on his left side. I'm not sure if this is from some previous experience that bothered him, or if he has vision issues or if he is just  a right sided horse. Time will tell.
We went right into longeing- I changed out his head gear for a thinner training halter and rope as I really dislike that red nylon longe line that I had been using.



I had the poles down for him, and they really didn't seem to be an issue, he literally  just took them in stride. It's kinda tough videoing with one hand and handling the rope in the other which is why I have to resort to a lot of smooching him up instead of using the usual stick and string to motivate him.
He did so well on the longeing that I moved on to bridling. A lot less mouthing today. I took the next video to explain how I start working on giving to the bit before I move on to ground driving. (My timing is a little off in places, I blame it on multi-tasking with the camera and talking while I should have been just concentrating on the job at hand.)



Kai stood there quietly while I did this, so the next step is to get him to move his feet while giving to the bit.
The next video shows that, first moving the hip and then the shoulder. I had to stop filming to work on the shoulder yield, it was way too tough to do a good job with the little camera in hand, so I actually did do more than I recorded.


The lesson plan for tomorrow is going to be concentrating on sacking out. It was really obvious today that Kai needs work in that department, especially on his left side. I'll bring out my arsenal of flags, bags, tarps, ropes and anything else I can think of.
One last video- I hung my camera on the fence for this- and I rarely show myself on film, but I couldn't think of any other way to show how Kai is more nervous on his left side.

Mr. Kai goes to school

With the round pen up, it was the first day of getting serious about working Kai. I assume he knows nothing, even though he is 4 years old, so I start with the basics. I've already done some ground work with yeilding the face, hip and shoulder in hand, and a little bit of longeing on a short line. Today I started with longeing the full circle of the pen. It was hot and muggy, so I waited until the afternoon so we had at least partial shade.

He sure looks different from when I brought him home 4 months ago. The next step was sacking him out with the saddle pad. Yeah, those horse-eatin' saddle pads.....

Actually, it took a few minutes to get him to let me do that. He tends to object to everything, like a little kid whose automatic reply to being asked to do something is "No!" but he can't buffalo me, so I just keep it up until he just lets me do what I want- he has figured it out than I won't hurt or scare him, so all this weird stuff must be okay.

Once he had that all figured out, I approached with the saddle. I introduced it to him, knowing full well that he has worn the saddle before- once with me and at least once or more with his previous owners.

He was pretty sure that he didn't want to wear the saddle, and my first attempt, he stepped forward just as I was swinging it up, and it landed on his hip... and then on the ground... sigh....
So I decided it was easier for me to swing it up from the right side, less stuff to fling over him. By golly he was ok with that and I got 'er done!

Doesn't look overly pleased, does he?

I checked him out a bit once I had the cinches done up. He just stood there, pouting.

 I longed him again walk  then trot, no trouble, so a little lope, again no trouble. The cinch was a little loose by then so he kind of bowed his neck when it moved too high on his withers, but he had no buck in him. Good boy Kai!

Since there were no issues there, it was time to bridle him. I had been using the bosal for lateral flexion , but I like to start with the snaffle once I start saddling. I may go back to the bosal later on.
I think this was something new for him judging from how much he mouthed the bit.

I played with him a bit more, sending him out on the short line wearing the bridle, and then just dropped the lead rope and took a few photos. He was quite happy to just stand there.

 Tomorrow I'll do more of the same but I will also start teaching him to give to the rein laterally, and will add a few poles to the outer longeing circle. Make him use his brain a little! I'll introduce ropes and some more obstacles like tarps to walk across etc. as the week goes on. I'm in no hurry!

Round pen

My honey do list had been put on hold for a while. There was only one item on it- build me a round pen. That's a pretty big to-do item! So this last week, Ted got down to it and built me 12 panels from scratch, using 2 inch steel pipe.  He spent one day planning and building the jig, so that he could just lay the pipe out and weld and get each panel perfect every time.

That is the sample panel on the left. I opted for 3 bar panels, 10 ft. long.
Then he got into production....

He has a wire feed welder which makes the job go faster.

Our friend Dave came over to help and that made things go smoother. He pinched the pipe ends and ground the burrs off the cut steel.

Once all the panels had been welded on one side, Ted laid them over on the sawhorses and did the back welds.

For the bases he welded two pieces of pipe to a flat plate which has drainage holes drilled in.

The piece of steel with the two pipes spot welded on is the jig for building the bases.
Ted had to leave Sunday morning for 2 weeks work on Vancouver Island, so he didn't get the top connectors built. But that isn't going to stop me from using the pen! I tied the panels together with enough orange twine to make them look like they were all wrapped up for Christmas- and I will be using it today. *Insert big grin*

The panels are 5 ft. high. I put Beamer in the pen this morning to eat down some of the grass. I want to get a load of sand in there once the ground is all broke up from use.

I have the Best. Husband. Ever. He even took 3 days out of his own Very Important Project to do this for me.

Rio moves on

The family who came to try Rio out took him home today. Even though they will have him on trial for a month, I really feel that Rio has finally found his people, and that they will keep him. Here are the parting photos.

We'll see you in the show ring some day, Rio!

Rio update

So, yesterday I hauled Rio to the indoor arena to ride, as people were coming today to try him out. I saddled and hauled him, and at the arena I turned him loose for some liberty fun (we had the place to ourselves) . At first, he trotted and loped around me in a circle, but soon realized he had the whole arena to motor around in.


After that I stepped on and rode, he was such a good boy you'd never know he'd been laid off for over 4 months (last ride April 10th, his 3rd birthday) other than the few minutes the other day in the round pen and the short trail ride.He remembered all his cues, and I got nice yields from all parts of his body, worked on trot to halt transitions, sidepass, two track, spin, back up, etc. He was so good I only schooled for a half hour. I took this little video, riding one handed while I videoed. Spins and a couple of halt/back ups.



So today, a father/daughter duo came to see him. It was pouring rain for the first time in about 7 weeks- right when we had to catch them in the field! Of course all they wanted to do was frolic in the rain.... 20 minutes later  and 3 soaked people ..... brought him in the stall where they had a good look at him. Dad's only concern was his size! Just under 16 hands. but I think he's done going up and now will be just adding muscle and bulk. We hauled to the arena and once again had it to ourselves; nice to have an indoor to ride in when it is pouring rain! I rode for a couple of minutes, just one loop around the arena to see if he had any issues, then dad rode. Very nice set of hands, and a good understanding of what to expect from a 3 year old. Then he put his daughter up and I really liked the way she rode and how well Rio responded to her. Rio never went one bit faster than the gait she put him in until she asked for more. She rode at all 3 gaits, got the correct leads, and even grinned when she got him to spin. A very nice young lady. The gist of it is, Shayla sent me a message that they want to take him on trial for a month. I couldn't be more pleased! So Sunday, Rio heads to Alberta with a ranch for his home and a future as a 4H and show horse as well as ranch duties. So perfect for him! I'm hoping to get some videos to share that dad took of his daughter riding. Will keep you all updated! I'm pretty sure that they won't be sending him back: I always try to represent horses honestly, no surprises.

Weather delay

Yesterday I rode Rio at home- pretty much just saddled him up and stepped on, just a few hip yields before I stepped on. My intent was to see how he was going to behave with very little refresher  after 4 months off. He did quite well; I deliberately took the dogs, and rode him past a big silver tarp laying next to an old haystack. He didn't mind the dogs following him (he never did before, either).

It was just a short ride, just to gauge where he was at. The only time we had a problem was when Amber jumped out of the tall grass suddenly from behind him; he grabbed his tail and scooted forward. He is so big, his jumps are quite powerful, and since I was taken by surprise and pulled back on the reins, one of them came undone- I had a pair of Weaver Leather reins, the Stacy Westfall signature ones. I think I'm going to have to modify them, they shouldn't fall off like that.

Anyway, I did the one rein stop that I normally do, and stepped off and fixed the rein and continued on.
On the way back I took this video of him going past the tarp- no problem! Good boy Rio.

I didn't work Kai, didn't feel like hauling to the round pen. Then today, the temps hit over 35 C (95 F) so I opted not to work the boys today. I brought them in off pasture around 2 to get them out of the heat, and later on when I was filling the water tubs I hosed all of them off. When I turned the hose on them at first they tried to get away, but since they were in their stalls there was nowhere to go- and then they discovered how good it felt!

Josie

Once they realized how good it felt, they stood there and didn't move. I bet it felt good to cool off.

More please!

Since the weather forecast is calling for cooler weather and/or thunderstorms over the next few days, I should be able to get back to working with the boyz. 

In other news, we have someone coming to look at Rio on Thursday. It sounds like a really good home, so I am really hoping that they are pleased with him. If they decide to buy him he will most likely leave on the weekend. I'll keep you posted!

Also- Ted is finally starting on my custom built round pen panels. He spent most of the day fabricating a jig to weld them, and is working on the last few welds of the 1st panel. 1 down and a dozen more to go! Then I can really get to work on Kai without having to haul him. 

Oh noes! I have to start work? Vacation is over?

Yes you Kai. You get to learn all about being my special horse. 

Working with the boyz

Since Rio is now up for sale, and has had the last 4 months off while Shayla is in California, I figured I'd better dust the cobwebs off him and see how he is after that long break. I decided to haul to the local arena, and to take Kai with me so I could (finally) start working with him.
Both boys loaded in the trailer with no hesitation, although I must say Rio barely fits in there now, with the saddle on the saddle horn is only inches from the roof!
I worked Rio first, just tied the reins up and sent him around. He did well except for one thing, he wanted to turn into the fence instead of an inside turn as you can see in this video.



Of course I worked on that and got him facing up. I climbed on and it was just like he had been ridden yesterday, I think he actually enjoys being ridden and I bet he was happy to get off the farm and do something different. My niece was with me so I let her take some photos

*Guess I should have rolled my pant legs down!* Rio has such a lovely natural frame and huge stride.

Changing direction

Love that golden tail.

Good boy Rio, nice and relaxed. In fact, he was so good I let Bridget climb up on him and I led her around, wish I could share the videos of that! 

Shayla has had several responses to her ads for Rio, and we are just waiting to see who will end up with this big gentle horse. 

Then I worked Kai, just a short session. Basically I just wanted to see how he would react to being saddled and moving out saddled up. He was easy to saddle, and didn't give me any trouble. I ran out of battery on my camera, so Bridget took a little video with her iphone- excuse the finger at around 30 seconds on the video.

I plan on working them both again later today and then this weekend I'll be heading to Fernie for a wedding, so they'll get the wekend off. It was a lot of fun working with these two brothers!

A few updates

The paint mare is confirmed in foal to Beamer, and the grey mare  must have caught too because she hasn't come into heat since she was bred. So 2 little B Babies next year, even though they won't be born here!

Beamer is staying busy teaching the nieces how to ride- yesterday the two oldest trotted for the first time, they did really well. I think they will want to trot every time now!  Once again, the picture is disguised but the happy face fits! Yes she was wearing a helmet, and I had her on a lead line but she was doing all the steering and speed control.

Shayla has decided to sell Rio, so if anyone out there is looking for a big gelding with lovely movement, you might want to get ahold of her- just leave a comment on this post and she will see it. The little kids have been leading Rio to and from pasture, he's really good with them. Even puts his head down- thanks, Shayla for teaching him that!
Kai still isn't started yet, I'm hoping for a round pen soon, but I think I might have to go ahead and start him without one. Can't wait forever, looks like my honey-do list is at the bottom of the heap this year. Sigh.

Amber's First Trail Ride

I wanted to call this post "Back in the Saddle Again" because Beamer is finally sound again after having sprained his ankle, so it was time to saddle up and ride.... but the wasps in my tack room nailed me when I opened the sliding door (it's a metal shed) and I got stung on the top of my head. Bad wasps! Bad,bad wasps! They met their fate for that- Ted went uptown and got some Brake Cleen and sprayed down their nests and hidey holes. But, meanwhile, I couldn't get my saddle out, so I snuck in low and got the bridle and brushes, and went for a bareback ride.
Accompanied by the dogs, of course.
All 3 of them.
Yes, Amber, you can come too.

At first, Amber wasn't quite sure what was going on....

It's ok Amber! Come on!

Yup, just stick with Tess, she'll show you how it's done.

All 3 dogs, lined out and heeling- good dogs!

Meanwhile, Beamer couldn't believe his eyes- we were walking past a perfect horse buffet of fresh oat grass and he wasn't allowed even a bite!

Beamer wasn't the only one who got sidetracked- the dogs found some interesting smells.
I tested their obedience by having them all lay down and wait until I gave them the command to heel. They did great! It's so nice having two "broke" dogs to teach young miss Amber how things are done.

As we rode, we could see that there were thunder clouds boiling up over the mountains. That blue above the mountain is actually a cloud.

There was a storm brewing allright, and as I sit here typing, the north wind is howling, breaking branches, tearing the bamboo blinds off the window, and trying it's darndest to straighten out the mountain ash tree that was leaning to the north. Methinks it will be leaning south after this storm! (Had a power outage for 3 hours before I finished writing this post!)
Anyway, we headed home.....

Amber kept heading into the oats and lying down, hoping for a cool-down break.

I did a little trotting, and got the dogs all lined out, and I must say I'm pretty happy with Amber on her very first trail ride. She stayed well with the other dogs, kept up, listened well and heeled. However, as soon as we got within a hundred yards of home, she bee-lined to the water trough in the colt's pasture and had a good soak. Gotta love those border collies!

All in all, it was a lovely ride, albeit short, and the nieces will be here tomorrow so Beamer will be busy teaching them for the next couple of days.