Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Monday, June 27, 2016
One step back
The bay mare wasn't quite what I wanted. For starters, they advertised her as being 14.3 hh but she was more like 14.1 hh. Yes she was quiet and broke, but she felt dull. She had a really sleepy eye. I want something with a bit more feel. She was also quite footsore, and I didn't want to deal with rehabbing her feet. So the search is still on.
Coulee got kicked in the ribs by a mare that is in for breeding, and it is quite a contusion and sore so I'll put off riding her for a couple of days while it heals up. Dang it all anyhow. Just when I was getting somewhere with her. Oh well, I will use the time to get her over being worried about me handling her sore spots- she is already doing better; at first she pinned her ears and wouldn't let me touch her there but I cold hosed her, then she let me put arnica gel and peppermint oil on, and even dropped her head and relaxed. Poor girl!
Well at least she can recuperate in her grass paddock that I set up with electric fence. To think that I used to mow this!
Coulee got kicked in the ribs by a mare that is in for breeding, and it is quite a contusion and sore so I'll put off riding her for a couple of days while it heals up. Dang it all anyhow. Just when I was getting somewhere with her. Oh well, I will use the time to get her over being worried about me handling her sore spots- she is already doing better; at first she pinned her ears and wouldn't let me touch her there but I cold hosed her, then she let me put arnica gel and peppermint oil on, and even dropped her head and relaxed. Poor girl!
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Easy does it
Had a great day today. I hauled Coulee up to the big local outdoor arena, I had it all to myself. My plan was to do ground work with her, then assess where she was at mentally, and ride if all seemed well. I walked her all around the perimeter and discovered a lot of wasps at one end, so we avoided that part and just worked at the other end- which had all the shade, a good thing on such a hot day.
I videoed what I could. Coulee was in a relaxed frame of mind, despite several distractions such as a tractor baling hay in the next field, and people using the park with their kids and dogs.
Here's what I am finding with this mare: She is not too inclined to trust people, although she seems to be reasonably well broke. She isn't fearful, she takes a lot of things in stride that would bother a less confidant horse. She walks over tarps, doesn't seem to be bothered by many external things- all her issues are internal. I think the key with her is to understand where she is at mentally and work from there. Sure I could override her reluctance and force obedience. but for what end? I want her to be a willing partner. I think you will see what I mean in the video, where I am working on her reluctance to go forward when I am working her from the left side. I think every time someone got after her, it was from that side which would show up as her being suspicious of anything good or gentle coming from there. So asking with a soft feel, not getting after her but waiting for the right response and rewarding it, will go a long way to building her trust and willingness.
I rode for about 10 minutes- enough to get a feel for where she is at. So light to the leg and rein, I love it! I am pretty happy with her and hope that bucking episode is behind us and that it's on and up from here. Our next work should be a lot shorter on the ground and more time in the saddle. I'm really wanting to get out and do some trails with her!
One other note on Coulee- I tried a couple of other oils with her; she wanted nothing more to do with Angelica but really loved Ylang Ylang! I've put it on her twice now. Here is what my book says about the fragrant influence of Ylang Ylang: Balances male/female energies, enhances spiritual attunement, combats anger, combats low self-esteem, increases focus of thought, filters out negative energy, restores confidence and peace. Very interesting that she chose that oil! And by chose it, here is what I mean: I take the cap off a bottle that I think might interest her, and hold it to her nostril. If she doesn't like it, her eyes get hard and she backs up about 5 steps real quick. If she likes it, she carefully sniffs it with both nostrils, her eyes get soft, and she curls her lip in the flemen pose.
Tomorrow, I am going to check out another mare, a broke mare that might work out well for me. I am thinking ahead to when Coulee and Belle have foals at side and I would need something to ride, as well as having another horse on hand for my sister to ride once we move on to their place; my sister used to own horses years ago and I'd like to get her back into riding. It would also give me a horse for the nieces and - (dreaming here) my husband to ride. Here is a little info on her:
"Grace ~ 6 yr old bay qh mare 14.3hh has had 6 months reining training on her, she is excellent on trails traffic etc. She rides english and western and has recently started western dressage. A confident beginner can ride her no problem, I have used her as a lesson horse a bit."
Since I am really interested in Cowboy Dressage, she might be a perfect fit for me. She is the same height as Coulee, which is also perfect; and I've had this feeling all year that I am going to end up with a bay mare. The only thing that bothers me is that she is linebred.
I can overlook that if she rides the way I want though. I'm pretty excited to go ride her tomorrow! I just hope if I get her that Coulee doesn't pick on her too much.
And most surprising of all..... my husband didn't say no! (I'm still in shock).
I videoed what I could. Coulee was in a relaxed frame of mind, despite several distractions such as a tractor baling hay in the next field, and people using the park with their kids and dogs.
Here's what I am finding with this mare: She is not too inclined to trust people, although she seems to be reasonably well broke. She isn't fearful, she takes a lot of things in stride that would bother a less confidant horse. She walks over tarps, doesn't seem to be bothered by many external things- all her issues are internal. I think the key with her is to understand where she is at mentally and work from there. Sure I could override her reluctance and force obedience. but for what end? I want her to be a willing partner. I think you will see what I mean in the video, where I am working on her reluctance to go forward when I am working her from the left side. I think every time someone got after her, it was from that side which would show up as her being suspicious of anything good or gentle coming from there. So asking with a soft feel, not getting after her but waiting for the right response and rewarding it, will go a long way to building her trust and willingness.
I rode for about 10 minutes- enough to get a feel for where she is at. So light to the leg and rein, I love it! I am pretty happy with her and hope that bucking episode is behind us and that it's on and up from here. Our next work should be a lot shorter on the ground and more time in the saddle. I'm really wanting to get out and do some trails with her!
One other note on Coulee- I tried a couple of other oils with her; she wanted nothing more to do with Angelica but really loved Ylang Ylang! I've put it on her twice now. Here is what my book says about the fragrant influence of Ylang Ylang: Balances male/female energies, enhances spiritual attunement, combats anger, combats low self-esteem, increases focus of thought, filters out negative energy, restores confidence and peace. Very interesting that she chose that oil! And by chose it, here is what I mean: I take the cap off a bottle that I think might interest her, and hold it to her nostril. If she doesn't like it, her eyes get hard and she backs up about 5 steps real quick. If she likes it, she carefully sniffs it with both nostrils, her eyes get soft, and she curls her lip in the flemen pose.
Tomorrow, I am going to check out another mare, a broke mare that might work out well for me. I am thinking ahead to when Coulee and Belle have foals at side and I would need something to ride, as well as having another horse on hand for my sister to ride once we move on to their place; my sister used to own horses years ago and I'd like to get her back into riding. It would also give me a horse for the nieces and - (dreaming here) my husband to ride. Here is a little info on her:
"Grace ~ 6 yr old bay qh mare 14.3hh has had 6 months reining training on her, she is excellent on trails traffic etc. She rides english and western and has recently started western dressage. A confident beginner can ride her no problem, I have used her as a lesson horse a bit."
I can overlook that if she rides the way I want though. I'm pretty excited to go ride her tomorrow! I just hope if I get her that Coulee doesn't pick on her too much.
And most surprising of all..... my husband didn't say no! (I'm still in shock).
Side tracked
I didn't get a lot of work done with Coulee since my last post- I now have 3 mares including Coulee that we are teasing every day, and one of them is living in the round pen.
Remember this mare, Pepsi? She and Beamer had a black tobiano colt last year.They liked him so much they want another one.
I am hoping that I have time tomorrow to haul Coulee to the outdoor arena, I think it would be good to do the ground work in a bigger area and if all goes well, I'll ride her. I think its time.
I thought Coulee was in heat, but apparently it was just a false alarm- because she is just coming in heat now. The other 2 mares are not in yet, but we tease them every day. Beamer is earning his keep! He is such a good boy.
I am hoping that I have time tomorrow to haul Coulee to the outdoor arena, I think it would be good to do the ground work in a bigger area and if all goes well, I'll ride her. I think its time.
I thought Coulee was in heat, but apparently it was just a false alarm- because she is just coming in heat now. The other 2 mares are not in yet, but we tease them every day. Beamer is earning his keep! He is such a good boy.
Yeehaw! Girls!
I have some other news- it does look like we will be moving to a small acreage at some point in the not too distant future. It's bare land at the moment, and my sister and brother in law will be our landlords, so we get to set it up the way we want! We are pretty excited. They will let me set up the pens the way I need to, and I should be able to at least get the horses there before summer is over. Once the well and septic go in, they will build a small house or maybe move a mobile in temporarily. Yippee!
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Building a foundation
Yesterday's work was interesting.
Coulee was much more relaxed and we got some really nice in hand work. One thing I noticed is that she takes exception to the stick; for example when I was asking for turns on the haunches from the ground, using my hand at the shoulder and touching her with the stick at the throatlatch, she would give it the "get that d@#m thing away from me" glare, but if I asked with just my other hand there she willingly complied. So that got me to thinking about how I wasn't offering her a soft feel first. I think this mare has had people start out tough with her because of her innate bitchiness- and deservedly so sometimes! But also I need to watch for those moments when a soft feel is all she needs, because she does respond so well to it. I think she wants to be good most of the time. But she is so defensive.
She was content to just walk when I sent her around, but when I asked her to speed up, I did get a little bit of 'tude as you will see in the video. Mostly ear pinning and tail swishing- no buck. So she has a ways to go yet.
Once again it was a shorter session, to get her to the point where she would follow me. She didn't 100% join, but it was a decent effort. I introduced backing and coming to me at liberty; I started with the halter on and worked at it until I could just have the rope slack and use hand signals for come her and back up. It was kind of fun! We quit when she did that well. Then she got to wear the rope crown for being a good girl.
I'll take small improvements, because that's how you build up to the partnership and respect required to make this a safe mare to ride and handle.
Coulee was much more relaxed and we got some really nice in hand work. One thing I noticed is that she takes exception to the stick; for example when I was asking for turns on the haunches from the ground, using my hand at the shoulder and touching her with the stick at the throatlatch, she would give it the "get that d@#m thing away from me" glare, but if I asked with just my other hand there she willingly complied. So that got me to thinking about how I wasn't offering her a soft feel first. I think this mare has had people start out tough with her because of her innate bitchiness- and deservedly so sometimes! But also I need to watch for those moments when a soft feel is all she needs, because she does respond so well to it. I think she wants to be good most of the time. But she is so defensive.
She was content to just walk when I sent her around, but when I asked her to speed up, I did get a little bit of 'tude as you will see in the video. Mostly ear pinning and tail swishing- no buck. So she has a ways to go yet.
Monday, June 20, 2016
What we found with body work
Last night's body work session proved quite interesting. Dustin Hewett adjusted her poll, several ribs on both sides, relieved some tightness in her sacral area with stretches of her hind legs, and the most interesting part was her jaw area. Specifically, he said where her tongue connects was out of alignment on one side and it was putting pressure on her pituitary gland, which controls a lot of things including hormonal balance. After he adjusted her there by pulling her tongue out to the side and having her work her jaw, she released for about 5 minutes, yawning and licking and dropping her head low and relaxed.
I bet that feels much better!
I asked him about her mental/emotional state and he said that she is very guarded, not willing to let anyone in. Past issues? Most likely. We found an oil that she wanted- Angelica. I thought maybe Release but that was a definite NO! Here is what my book says about Angelica: Known as the "holy spirit" oil or the "oil of Angels" by the Europeans, angelica's healing powers were so strong that it was believed to be of divine origin.
It's uses include throat/lung infections, indigestion, menstrual problems/PMS and symptoms of dementia. It's fragrant influence assists in the release of pent up negative feelings and restores memories to the point of origin before the trauma or anger was experienced.
Very interesting that this is the oil she wanted!!! I sure hope it helps her get over what troubles her. He said to apply it 3 times a week on her neck about 4 inches behind her ears.
It is going to be very interesting to see how she does when I work her today. Can't wait!
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Perhaps a plan
Here is an excellent article from Eclectic Horseman.
https://eclectic-horseman.com/clearing-out-the-front-quarters/ With pictures!
Buck Brannaman teaching a very basic thing, getting your horse to go around you in a circle. Coulee is very not good at this. Her first instinct is to be suspicious and back up. Today when I work her I will be trying to perfect this. We had it going not bad a couple of weeks ago, but then she fell apart- perhaps from coming into heat? Who knows, but to me that's no excuse.
**** Just came in from working her. Much better day today. Although- in the pen at feeding time this morning she was as crabby as usual. However, in hand work was much better. I worked on the exercises in the above link, and it was helpful to have those images in mind. She actually did quite well.
I was able to also get one good liberty turn on the haunches to the right but as soon as I went to her right side and asked for the turn she got all crabby, so then I sent her around the pen.This time only about 10 minutes before she started join up- much better than yesterday!
Better expression and a more willing attitude. She was also more inclined to walk when I asked her instead of just loping off like yesterday.
She is definitely in heat, so I had a discussion with my husband today about her future. He is adamant that he does not want me to ride her- although I think she will be fine to ride once we get on the same page with the ground work. I trust his intuition- he is rarely wrong when it comes to animals. His idea is that we should breed her- and as a side note here, after talking to the lady that bred her, this crabby attitude is not evident in any of her sisters, so I'm not too concerned about passing it on to her offspring. As well, Beamer has an exemplary disposition that so far has passed on to all his foals.
Once she foals, he wants me to sell her. I will continue the ground work with the goal of making her as safe as possible to handle. I am really hoping that being in foal will help to turn her around- it's been known to happen with crabby mares that after pregnancy they mellow out. We can only hope.
This could be interesting because I've wanted to try liberty work for a while now and what better chance than this.
I have the body work guy coming this afternoon, and he does kinesiology as well so I'll ask him a few questions about her. It would be lovely if all this crabby stuff had a physical source that could be dealt with. Because when she is good, she is very good but when she is bad she is nasty. And no curl on the middle of her forehead! (For those who remember the old nursery rhyme.) Actually, her curl (swirl) is off center to her left and high up. Remind me never to buy a horse with an off center swirl again.
https://eclectic-horseman.com/clearing-out-the-front-quarters/ With pictures!
Buck Brannaman teaching a very basic thing, getting your horse to go around you in a circle. Coulee is very not good at this. Her first instinct is to be suspicious and back up. Today when I work her I will be trying to perfect this. We had it going not bad a couple of weeks ago, but then she fell apart- perhaps from coming into heat? Who knows, but to me that's no excuse.
**** Just came in from working her. Much better day today. Although- in the pen at feeding time this morning she was as crabby as usual. However, in hand work was much better. I worked on the exercises in the above link, and it was helpful to have those images in mind. She actually did quite well.
I was able to also get one good liberty turn on the haunches to the right but as soon as I went to her right side and asked for the turn she got all crabby, so then I sent her around the pen.This time only about 10 minutes before she started join up- much better than yesterday!
She is definitely in heat, so I had a discussion with my husband today about her future. He is adamant that he does not want me to ride her- although I think she will be fine to ride once we get on the same page with the ground work. I trust his intuition- he is rarely wrong when it comes to animals. His idea is that we should breed her- and as a side note here, after talking to the lady that bred her, this crabby attitude is not evident in any of her sisters, so I'm not too concerned about passing it on to her offspring. As well, Beamer has an exemplary disposition that so far has passed on to all his foals.
Once she foals, he wants me to sell her. I will continue the ground work with the goal of making her as safe as possible to handle. I am really hoping that being in foal will help to turn her around- it's been known to happen with crabby mares that after pregnancy they mellow out. We can only hope.
This could be interesting because I've wanted to try liberty work for a while now and what better chance than this.
I have the body work guy coming this afternoon, and he does kinesiology as well so I'll ask him a few questions about her. It would be lovely if all this crabby stuff had a physical source that could be dealt with. Because when she is good, she is very good but when she is bad she is nasty. And no curl on the middle of her forehead! (For those who remember the old nursery rhyme.) Actually, her curl (swirl) is off center to her left and high up. Remind me never to buy a horse with an off center swirl again.
Saturday, June 18, 2016
What next?
I took a big risk when I bought Coulee, without trying her out and only seeing her ridden in videos. Her personality is the problem for me. To put it bluntly, she is a bitchy mare. Pinny ears, hard eyes, tight mouth. And that's before I even ask for anything.
Shayla came over yesterday and worked with Coulee. Right off the bat she was crabby- threatening to kick, refusing to move her hip over, basically trying to dominate. And that was just taking her off the hitching rail. So- off to the round pen and some in hand work- tail swishing, glaring, not wanting to whoa, you name it she threw it all in there. Saddled her up, and took the halter off to work her at liberty...... she spent the next 10 minutes galloping around the pen bucking. Not scared bucking- mad bucking. She doesn't buck hard, just hogs around but any buck at a gallop would unseat me. Shayla worked her until she stopped bucking, worked a lot on changes of direction, trying for inside turns (lots of outside turns was what Coulee preferred) and whoa. Took a long time and lots of sweat before she lowered her head and licked her lips and joined up with Shayla. Brave girl- she got on and rode after that, and the riding isn't really an issue with Coulee- which agrees with what I was told about her when I bought her. Shayla pressured her up a bit to see what she would do and she took it all quite well. She quit when she got a really nice whoa.
Today I worked her in the round pen at liberty- no bucking today but lots of attitude.
It took her nearly an hour before she even gave me a few following steps. When I went to rub her forehead she would turn her head away- so got sent out again. Lots of turns into the fence....
at speed..... this is a 50 ft. round pan and this mare has no trouble keeping her footing at a gallop. Future barrel horse? Maybe?
Cutting across the middle of the pen- at least it was an inside turn! Look at that crabby face.
Finally made progress and decided against riding her- I wanted to but my husband says no. Next I worked on some liberty moves, getting her to do a correct turn on the haunches. Hand pressure where the leg would go, and held the butt of the stick at her jaw as needed to encourage her to move her front end over. This is a big thing with her because she always wants to keep turning to face you. She also would reach behind instead of across the front of her other leg. We did some hip over/shoulder over combos and called it a day when she got it right.
So the thing about Coulee is her ground manners. Now, horses don't understand the word manners- they just do what horses do which is take care of their personal space. She obviously learned a long time ago that being aggressive gave her what she wanted, both with other horses and with humans. I don't think her previous people did a lot of ground work with her, probably because of her crabbiness. So she is going to learn that people have rules about their personal space too.
Now, I really dislike crabby horses. They can be dangerous to people (especially kids), dogs, and other horses. I am willing to work with this mare on the ground for as long as I own her, which may or may not be a while. I sure hope I can turn her around because she really is a beautiful mare. It is also hard to sell a horse that is such a bitch.
I know of other horses that are like this and have heard it said that they are the best working horses out there. Remember the Hell Bitch from Lonesome Dove? Same idea.
I do have my body work guy coming out tomorrow to work on her and on Beamer, it will be interesting to see what he has to say about her. If all is well, I may send her out for barrel horse training.
Also will find out within a week if she caught when I bred her to Beamer at the end of May. Have to decide what to do if she is open. Do I put her in training and try to get her sold or breed her back? My concern is how she will get along with Coyote Belle, who is way more important to me than Coulee. And if she is already in foal, that may or may not help as far as finding her a new home. I guess it's wait and see.
What do you think I should do? Keep up on the ground work and hope it will help with her attitude? Sell her open, or bred? Put her in training and then sell?
Shayla came over yesterday and worked with Coulee. Right off the bat she was crabby- threatening to kick, refusing to move her hip over, basically trying to dominate. And that was just taking her off the hitching rail. So- off to the round pen and some in hand work- tail swishing, glaring, not wanting to whoa, you name it she threw it all in there. Saddled her up, and took the halter off to work her at liberty...... she spent the next 10 minutes galloping around the pen bucking. Not scared bucking- mad bucking. She doesn't buck hard, just hogs around but any buck at a gallop would unseat me. Shayla worked her until she stopped bucking, worked a lot on changes of direction, trying for inside turns (lots of outside turns was what Coulee preferred) and whoa. Took a long time and lots of sweat before she lowered her head and licked her lips and joined up with Shayla. Brave girl- she got on and rode after that, and the riding isn't really an issue with Coulee- which agrees with what I was told about her when I bought her. Shayla pressured her up a bit to see what she would do and she took it all quite well. She quit when she got a really nice whoa.
Today I worked her in the round pen at liberty- no bucking today but lots of attitude.
It took her nearly an hour before she even gave me a few following steps. When I went to rub her forehead she would turn her head away- so got sent out again. Lots of turns into the fence....
Finally made progress and decided against riding her- I wanted to but my husband says no. Next I worked on some liberty moves, getting her to do a correct turn on the haunches. Hand pressure where the leg would go, and held the butt of the stick at her jaw as needed to encourage her to move her front end over. This is a big thing with her because she always wants to keep turning to face you. She also would reach behind instead of across the front of her other leg. We did some hip over/shoulder over combos and called it a day when she got it right.
So the thing about Coulee is her ground manners. Now, horses don't understand the word manners- they just do what horses do which is take care of their personal space. She obviously learned a long time ago that being aggressive gave her what she wanted, both with other horses and with humans. I don't think her previous people did a lot of ground work with her, probably because of her crabbiness. So she is going to learn that people have rules about their personal space too.
Now, I really dislike crabby horses. They can be dangerous to people (especially kids), dogs, and other horses. I am willing to work with this mare on the ground for as long as I own her, which may or may not be a while. I sure hope I can turn her around because she really is a beautiful mare. It is also hard to sell a horse that is such a bitch.
I know of other horses that are like this and have heard it said that they are the best working horses out there. Remember the Hell Bitch from Lonesome Dove? Same idea.
I do have my body work guy coming out tomorrow to work on her and on Beamer, it will be interesting to see what he has to say about her. If all is well, I may send her out for barrel horse training.
What do you think I should do? Keep up on the ground work and hope it will help with her attitude? Sell her open, or bred? Put her in training and then sell?
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
The foal from the video
Stole it from Facebook- this is a photo of Coyote Belle's silver bay stud colt.
Does he remind you of anyone?
....Stella Belle....
The youngster in the pack
Thea has really strong working instinct. It is hard to balance keeping her out of trouble with not wanting to stifle her natural inclination to work.
Most of the time I can quietly call her off- but sometimes she gets in trouble for not listening to me.
When the cows come up to the fence her hackles go up and she barks at the, going up and down the fence. Then it's really hard to get her to come back to me; I have to use my growl voice.
Overall I'm really happy with her; she is a people lover and it's a work in progress to get her to not jump on people. Fortunately most of the people who come here get it and don't pet her when she jumps up.
She loves to play ball and is always stealing the ball from Tess; her nickname is Thiefa.
Tess has been a really good role model for Thea. Tess stays on the deck even though there is a place that they could easily jump down and off, Thea doesn't because Tess doesn't, so I can safely leave all the dogs on the deck when I go to work. That way they do double duty as guard dogs.
Monday, June 13, 2016
My Reba
My last post was all about the two younger dogs- this one is about Reba. She is Tess's mama and is the matriarch of several of my friends dogs, who have daughters, sons and grandpups of Reba.
She is less than 3 months away from her 15th birthday. Her days are spent sleeping soundly, and laying in the pasture keeping an eye on Beamer. But every once in a while, she gets the urge to play ball with the other 2 hooligans.
Her hind end doesn't work too well anymore, so I have to help her up and down stairs, and help her to stand up if she is on a slick surface. Sometimes she just gives up and waits for me to come and help her up, like at the end if the video above. She is also about 90% deaf; her hearing started to go when she was 12.
She is a happy dog, and I love her to bits.
She is less than 3 months away from her 15th birthday. Her days are spent sleeping soundly, and laying in the pasture keeping an eye on Beamer. But every once in a while, she gets the urge to play ball with the other 2 hooligans.
Her hind end doesn't work too well anymore, so I have to help her up and down stairs, and help her to stand up if she is on a slick surface. Sometimes she just gives up and waits for me to come and help her up, like at the end if the video above. She is also about 90% deaf; her hearing started to go when she was 12.
She is a happy dog, and I love her to bits.
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Wheelin' and dealin'
I must confess that I do enjoy making deals.
Especially horse deals.
Drum roll..............
..............................
..............................
Coyote Belle will be coming home once she weans her current foal. The Ranch owner is downsizing his mare herd (and he has some great mares) due to 2 years of drought affecting his pasture. I mentioned that I thought Coyote Belle had earned herself a permanent place in the harem of the silver bay stud- but he right away asked if I'd like to buy her back.
Yes sir, I would.
Today she is signed and sealed, my mare again, but won't be coming home until the fall. Part of the deal was that she would come bred to one of his stallions. Originally we settled on Rollin in My Dually which would have been a nice cross- but today I got to meet Dun It Ok and fell in love with him. He really reminds me of Beamer. Same head, short and chunky like I like them and really sweet. So a deal was struck, and Belle will be AI'd to him this month. Here is a link to his website . He is on his way to Alberta as I write, where he will be living at Fleetwood Farms.
I'm guaranteed a black based dun foal- most likely a grulla as both parents are homozygous for black. The stallion is homozygous for dun. However- they both carry one copy of the cream dilute gene so there are several possibilities of what colour of dun I will get.
Am I excited? You bet! Can't wait to get my girl home!
Especially horse deals.
Drum roll..............
..............................
..............................
Coyote Belle will be coming home once she weans her current foal. The Ranch owner is downsizing his mare herd (and he has some great mares) due to 2 years of drought affecting his pasture. I mentioned that I thought Coyote Belle had earned herself a permanent place in the harem of the silver bay stud- but he right away asked if I'd like to buy her back.
Yes sir, I would.
Today she is signed and sealed, my mare again, but won't be coming home until the fall. Part of the deal was that she would come bred to one of his stallions. Originally we settled on Rollin in My Dually which would have been a nice cross- but today I got to meet Dun It Ok and fell in love with him. He really reminds me of Beamer. Same head, short and chunky like I like them and really sweet. So a deal was struck, and Belle will be AI'd to him this month. Here is a link to his website . He is on his way to Alberta as I write, where he will be living at Fleetwood Farms.
I'm guaranteed a black based dun foal- most likely a grulla as both parents are homozygous for black. The stallion is homozygous for dun. However- they both carry one copy of the cream dilute gene so there are several possibilities of what colour of dun I will get.
Am I excited? You bet! Can't wait to get my girl home!
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Update on Rio and Coyote Belle
Some news for you- first of all, Rio and his girl just competed in 4H on Parade and took home overall Reserve Champion! I am so proud of that pair!
Doesn't he look fabulous! R. really has put the work into him and got him in lovely show shape.
The fellow who has Coyote Belle managed to get a video of her foaling the other day- she was bred to a silver bay stallion and threw him a silver bay colt.
https://www.facebook.com/ryansmithfromchampionalberta/videos/10156912925680307/
He's a looker- big like Rio, with the same hind stockings but more white on his face.
Doesn't he look fabulous! R. really has put the work into him and got him in lovely show shape.
The fellow who has Coyote Belle managed to get a video of her foaling the other day- she was bred to a silver bay stallion and threw him a silver bay colt.
https://www.facebook.com/ryansmithfromchampionalberta/videos/10156912925680307/
He's a looker- big like Rio, with the same hind stockings but more white on his face.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Murphy's law (edited)
If it can go wrong it will. I have been wanting to get to riding Coulee but every time I make plans to ride something throws a wrench into the works. Yesterday, I trimmed her front feet, today I trimmed the hinds. I was pretty ticked off when she was not cooperating and squealed and kicked, sending me flying. For a horse that was previously owned by a farrier, I wasn't expecting that. So I had a little discussion with her- no, not a physical one, just a verbal one in an unmistakeable tone. I think she got the message. However, I decided that discretion is the better part of valour and used a cotton rope to pick her foot up after that. I did get her trimmed, and she didn't kick out again. However- she is tender on her front feet, so I have to wait a couple of days- again- to ride.
And there is another thunderstorm.
So- maybe next week I will get to ride! Sheesh! I'm starting to think I need 2 riding horses just so I don't forget how to ride!
And there is another thunderstorm.
So- maybe next week I will get to ride! Sheesh! I'm starting to think I need 2 riding horses just so I don't forget how to ride!
No Coulee, I am not impressed with you.
Just went out for the evening feed and went to pick up a front foot- another squeal and she pulled away and took off. Very not impressed with her. I'm getting too old for that crap, so she may end up being for sale, no matter how nice she rides- if I ever get around to riding her to find out.
EDITED: Ok I'm over being mad at her. I had a chat last night with the lady that bred her and she used to give her a shot to keep her from being in heat. This is the first mare I have owned who is so... marish. That being said- well..... I did breed her to Beamer last week- and maybe that is just what she needs. I sure hope it helps to settle her. I wasn't going to breed her this year, but my gut instinct was telling me to breed her. So we shall see!
EDITED: Ok I'm over being mad at her. I had a chat last night with the lady that bred her and she used to give her a shot to keep her from being in heat. This is the first mare I have owned who is so... marish. That being said- well..... I did breed her to Beamer last week- and maybe that is just what she needs. I sure hope it helps to settle her. I wasn't going to breed her this year, but my gut instinct was telling me to breed her. So we shall see!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)