Funny face, I love you

Sing it with me....

Funny face,

I love you,

Funny face,

I need you,

Funny face,

My whole world's

wrapped up in you.

Portraits

The full moon brought a weather change- a little cooler, but some nice sunshine. Just in time to get my pre-winter yard work started!

I just managed a shot before the ground mist faded it out as the moon slipped behind the mountains this morning.
Yesterday at turn out time I took advantage of the sun and took a few photos of my lovely Beamer Kidz.

Miss Josie is the most photogenic of the bunch, it's tough to get a bad photo of her.  The next collage I put together because it shows how she ran through the branches, I thought it was pretty funny.

Next up is Shayla's horse, Nitro. As most of you know, he is the 2 yr old full brother to Kai (who is 4) and Rio (who is 3) and Jazz (who is 5).

Even with a rubbed out mane he is still a pretty boy. He is the blackest of the bunch too.

Airborne! After spending over a year alone, Nitro is quite happy to be part of a herd again. His manners are improving too.
And then there's Kai....

I think he has the prettiest head of all the boys (bet Shayla doesn't agree!)

One more portrait- my lovely old dog Reba, who accompanies me whenever I'm doing horse chores. She is 13 now, and on her birthday in September I took her on her last trail ride, she is getting too slow to keep up. Not long after that I found a tumour on one of her nipples, and she has several fluid filled spots, like cysts maybe, so her health is really in question. Doesn't stop her intensity and her desire to work though.

That shrinking feeling

Still all quiet here, haven't ridden Kai in a week or more, just too dang wet and muddy. I would have to haul to the indoor. However, the next couple of days have sun in the forecast, so maybe I'll get going again. One thing about the wet, Kai and Josie are learning to walk through muddy spots and puddles.
The other thing that is happening is that the horses are now sharing their shelter area with weanling calves. The landlord weaned the other day, and the calves needed a place out of the rain, so I moved Nitro over to a temporary set up that I built using pipe and Beamer's shelter that Ted built- and the calves have the end of the stall area now. Apparently, Josie and Kai are quite fine with that, they hang out down there and even lay down close to the cross fence where the calves are. Josie in particular is quite taken with the little heifers.

Should never have to worry about coming across cattle once we get riding her! Her mama liked cows too. Guess all that cutting horse blood is coming through.

Beamer is enjoying having Nitro over the fence from him, they seem to get along well, and if I put Beamer out in the turn out pen Nitro calls for him. I wish I had a big enough paddock where I could turn Beamer out with a gelding, but these small pens don't cut it- no room for the boys to get away when Beamer decides to push them around as studs can do. And my pen areas are getting smaller all the time. I have no pasture, just the one small turn out pen that I rotate turn out in, and a 20 x 36 stall for Kai and Josie, a 40 x 40 pen for Beamer and the pen Nitro is in is about 40 x 50- it will eventually become part of Beamer's but for now Nitro lives there.

 This place keeps getting smaller and smaller for me as the landlords take over for their cattle- and I understand, cows are their income. They take priority. There is a plan in place to do some fencing off of the stall area so that there will be a 36 x 80 run for Josie and Kai off their stall, which will help. However, I will have to hot wire it where it has a common fence with Beamer's pen because of Josie- can't have Beamer getting interested in her.
This place which started out so good, with 5 acre pastures and the nice big dry lot off of the stalls just keeps shrinking and shrinking to the point where I think it's time to get out of here. Trouble is, there's nowhere to go in this valley. I've been looking for years and nothing has come up for rent. See where all those cows are in the background of the first photo above? That used to be one of two horse pastures I had use of. Now there will be cows here year round and that is where they will spend the winter. I hate having my horses confined to such small pens. Good thing I don't have very many horses any more!

Slowing down with the weather

Not a lot going on here with rainy days. The boyz have been worked, Kai got ground driven and Nitro got some ground work. Shayla is leaving tomorrow for Alberta and her new job at SR Training Stables, we will have to keep up with her on her blog, The Road Less Travelled, which she just revamped with bigger print and a nice background. (On my blogroll on the sidebar, it's simply called Shayla's blog)
It is mild and wet here, any snow has stayed up in the mountains where it belongs. We are having a lot of foggy mornings, sometimes it stays for half the day. It is going to be a wet and mild winter, I think.

 The horses are getting their winter colours, Josie doesn't change much, but Kai and Nitro are getting really dark. I turn all 3 kidz out together and they really get to romping!

Ears? What ears?

Josie can dish it out too, she doesn't let her big brothers intimidate her.

Nitro is looking really good! Not sure how long he will be here, Shayla is working on getting him over to Alberta as soon as she can make it work.

Oh that mane! But- it will grow out!

I'm going to try to get a photo of Beamer and his 2 sons as soon as I get some help holding them.

And hopefully before all the leaves are gone, they do make a pretty backdrop..... but it seems I caught a shark behind the bushes in this next photo.....

Kai has always tried to dominate his younger brothers... funny, he doesn't get too far trying that on Josie! Red heads rule!

Beamer's kidz

Headed up to see Janice and her horse Jazz on Saturday, Shayla trimmed her and did a follow up to the body work done on her earlier in the month. This mare is full sister to Rio, Kai and Nitro, and she is a beauty.

She had several spots that needed adjusting. Aurora was asking for more info on using Essential Oils on horses; they are a part of everything I do including caring for my horses. In this instance, Shayla would hold a bottle up and wait for the horse's reaction- if she showed interest, the oil was used, if disinterested, it was a "no, I don't need that one".

Where the oil is applied depends on the properties of the oil. For example, this oil is StressAway, if she had liked it, it would have been applied in her nostrils. Oils that are for the release of spasms in muscles would be applied directly to the area being worked on. Other oils, perhaps on the belly for the digestive system, like the other day when Jazz was showing signs of colic and Janice applied DiGize oil blend as she hand walked her for an hour- with good results I'm happy to say! One oil that horses seem to like is Release, and most people like it too. It releases negative energy, either mentally or the negativity that can be toxic to flesh. We always use it on areas of the horse that are the most tight and painful. Another one is Grounding, usually applied on the poll, which Shayla is doing in this next photo.

All the oils I use are Young Living oils, the foremost leader in essential oils in the world, with their Seed to Seal guarantee.
They are unbelievably effective. I have been using them for nearly 10 years and won't be without them.
Here is a photo of one of the stretches that she did, the "drunken sailor" pose:

Heeheee looks worse because I had the camera on an angle, but if I straightened the photo it would cut off part of the horse.
Anyway.... we have some news...... drum roll....... Shayla now owns Nitro! Dave gave her a good deal on him and he will be staying with us for a little while until Shayla can take him to Alberta with her, probably in the spring, which is prefect- she is putting a couple of weeks training on him and then he will be given time off for his knees to close up and go back into training next year when he is 3.

Of course, she's over the moon about it! I'm very glad she got him- he will have a future as a barrel horse, which I have always believed is what he is called to do.

Also..... more drum rolls please..... I made a deal with her on half ownership of Josie  I'm excited for the future of these two horses, they are in good hands! And she will have her hands full too because she also has another yearling barrel prospect!
I was asked for an update on Rio- Shayla did one on her blog. While you are visiting there check out her posts on her time at Sandy Collier's in California!

Just one of those days

After a very rainy day off yesterday, Kai and Nitro got worked today. Dave brought Nitro over in the morning, and Shayla worked him first. Started out fine, but he got pretty strong for a while, testing her every which way but they did get it sorted out and she had a nice first solo ride on him.

While that was going on I bitted Kai up, and then took him out on the lawn to see how he did with some of the schooling moves. He had gotten ramped up watching his little brother, and, as we discovered later, had some body issues likely from the trail ride the other day. He was fussing, not wanting to yield his shoulders, and seemed "stuck" and was getting crabby. I wasn't getting anywhere with him, so Shayla got on him- same results, so back to the round pen he went.Sometimes it's a big step forward and two steps back, that's how it goes with colts. After a pretty intense session of ground work, she did get back on and got better results. The body work session afterwards helped, ribs, scapula and elbows adjusted, then Shayla checked and darned if he didn't give his shoulder both directions as nice as pie. So, apparently Kai is the kind of horse that will always let you know when there is something wrong with him.

I was asking him to move his hip to the right.....

 Even his expression in some of the before photos showed that pickle face, but after being worked on he was much happier. We used several Young Living oils on him too.

The boys spent an hour or so tied to the hitching rail after their workouts. I hope it all sank in and they will be better boys tomorrow!

We will be heading to go work on Jazz (their full sister) tomorrow, and this time I will remember my camera!

14th ride- hitting the trails!

I can officially stop counting the training posts now; Kai has graduated.
On a rainy, drizzly, grey and cloudy day, I had the best first trail ride. Ever.
I hauled over to where Shayla keeps her horses, and we saddled up and hit the trail. But first, a quick reminder in the round pen there:

One thing I noticed about him lately is that circling right, he starts out correct and then crossfires on the hind lead. What I saw today, is that he does that when he gets ramped up and chargey- as soon as I stepped to his head and then sent him on again- without breaking to a trot- it got his attention and he corrected himself. Also, the two lessons Shayla gave him giving to the leg have really paid off- a soft leading rein and a light leg pressure and he was turning nicely on haunches and forehand.
We headed out on the trail, and from the get go , I felt really comfortable on Kai. We followed Shayla on Allie, who know the trails very well, so that I could just concentrate on what was going on with my horse.

There were wide trails and narrow trails, dogs underfoot, slippery spots and muddy spots, branches rubbing on us and tight turns around trees; narrow sidehill trails crumbling away, and steep areas. The first place Kai got worried was a soft waterhole, muddy around the edges. We tried several times to encourage him to cross but he worried when he sank past his fetlocks, and I didn't want to make a big issue so I led him across.
He did follow a little close to Allie, his security blanket- I will correct that on another ride.

He was getting a little tired at one point and started fussing, so we gave the horses a breather and then went on. The only other place he was concerned about was a downhill slope, perhaps the saddle pressure moving forward or just unsure of balancing a rider on a wet downhill, so I got off and led him there too, and got back on at the bottom. The rest of the ride was just wonderful, even though the rain picked up.

At no time was I worried or tense. It was really nice to have Allie there, it's good for colts to go with a confidant horse on their first outing.

I think we rode for about an hour- Shayla didn't have chaps on so I think she got pretty wet and cold.

Didn't stop her from smiling though! And apparently, Allie thought there was something to smile about too.....

The last part of the ride was along the paved backroad , and several vehicles went by, 2 of them stopping to chat- again, no worries for Kai. He did get slightly concerned- as in 2 trot steps- when a car hit a puddle and made that noisy splash sound.
I can't say enough about how much I like this colt- he has really turned around since May, and I just love him!
On the drive home, I had one tired Tess dog, she is so good to ride trails with- stays right behind the horse the whole way unless invited to move out. A good dog to take out with a good horse!
She was pretty wet and tired though!

13th ride, more leg yields and obstacles

It didn't work out to do the trail ride today, so my back yard and a few timbers had to work to give Kai something to do.
First the bitting up session in the round pen:

He's really coming along well. Love his neck carriage. Reminds me of his daddy..... speaking of his daddy I was having Beamer withdrawals and needed a photo of him....

That's my boy!

Anyway, back to Kai. We headed over to the lawn, where I had set up a few tripping hazards  obstacles and Shayla did some work with him on turns on the forehand, turns on the haunches, sidepass and going over the logs. In the video you will see him mouthing the bit a lot- I don't worry much about that at this stage, it's still pretty new to him, as are all the other things he was asked to do today. He worked up a sweat- at a walk, which shows that he was really working his brain today. He tried very hard! One of the things I love about this horse is that when you stop working, he is quite happy to just stand still, as he did when someone stopped over to visit for a bit. He didn't move a leg, or fidget at all. He also stands still when you get on and waits to be asked to move. Good boy, Kai!

It was another good day!

Trail ride 2, and spurs

It was my turn today! A quick bitting up session, and then I rode Kai- first in the round pen, checking on that steering and whoa. The steering is very much better, which it should be.

Kai is nice and smooth to ride, which is great for this ageing body of mine.

He looks happy, doesn't he? Thanks, Shayla, for taking the photos.

We headed out on the trail, with Shayla leading Josie for company. Let me tell you it felt darn fine to be riding a Beamer baby!

We didn't go too far, because it was time to introduce Kai to spurs. He doesn't quite get that he has to move off the leg yet- this is only ride 12, and I haven't been pushing him. The plan was to take him back to the round pen after the little ride and Shayla would introduce him to "fortified" leg pressure. But first, an ear cam video! It was kind of tough to steer him one handed and take the video, he wandered a bit but was a good boy.

 Back at the round pen, Shayla introduced him to spur pressure, getting him to move his hip over and shoulder over, and sidepassing. Not real smooth yet on those but that will come; he now has the concept of what leg pressure means; ignoring legs is now something he used to do but not any more!

Next adventure- a trail ride along the airport trails accompanied by Shayla and her mare Allie, and a couple of dogs. Should be fun!

Look Ma, No Fences

What a wonderful day today! After Church I took Beamer for a ride, accompanied by Tess and Amber. I treasure every ride with him, because he has arthritis in his left knee and while it looks awful, he is still ok when I ride.  My favourite view of anything is through Beamer ears....

including dogs!

Anyway, after that Shayla came over to work Kai. Ted had modified the tops of the round pen today so it was safe to bit Kai up; after a session of that, Shayla rode him for a few minutes....

and like she said- time for a trail ride. I clipped a lead line on him but only went a short way before I took it off- he was being such a good boy!

There were cows across the fence to the left, and of course they had to come check him out, he did lose focus a little bit on that but not bad. I clipped the line back on him and Shayla rode circles- back to his comfort zone- and then I took the line off and he was fine.



He was so good! I have plans to take him on a trail ride on Tuesday, with Shayla riding her mare Allie up in the hills. I hope to get in as much trail riding on him as possible while this lovely weather holds!
I looked back on my training posts and in my photos; not counting the times I rode while on a lead line, Kai had 5 solo rides from me then Shayla put 5 solo rides on him including today- and I rode him for a few minutes yesterday just to see how his steering was. I started his schooling on August 18th, so it has taken 2 months to get him to this point, although he wasn't worked every day of that 2 months; he did get a lot of ground work. The main thing for me is that I have a calm, happy horse. Another "good horse to ride" especially now that Beamer's riding days are limited.
 I started this post with a Beamer ear cam shot- and part with a Kai ear cam shot! (photo by Shayla)

Days of rest

The last couple of days I haven't had time to work Kai, so I thought I'd just post a few pics of him just enjoying being a horse.

Man he's looking good now! He is in decent shape since we have been working him, and ever since his body work he has been carrying himself better.

Of course, he likes to torment his little sister Josie....

but she is pretty agile and adept at getting away from him.

I've also noticed that he is a much happier horse now. His expression, his attitude, all have improved so much. Love my Kai!

Training Kai- Day 30, back to basics

Taking Kai to the big arena showed us a couple of things. First, the good things: Kai is good minded, not inclined to buck or run away, and he has a curious nature, which is much better than a fearful nature when it comes to trail riding or approaching new obstacles.  The other thing we found is the areas we need to work on with him- and that is his steering and softness in the face.
We were going to go to a smaller arena, but opted to just work in my little round pen, and go back to ground driving.
Well- I already knew that Kai does not like ground driving, but this time he had to suck it up and figure it out; and that's the nice thing about having a trainer work with your horse- they can get past the points where you get stuck. So thanks, Shayla, for persevering and helping Kai! The following video is a bit long, but it shows how Kai threw every evasion he could think of at her, and how he finally was making the turns she asked for. He still is not happy about that bit, and so there will be some bitting up in his near future.



That is Nitro standing tied to the hitching rail in the background, he got worked too and is coming along nicely.
Anyway, after the session with ground driving, Kai got ridden.



While he has made improvements, he is still not understanding giving to the bit and being soft in the face, so that will be the focus this next week. Hopefully we will also get him out covering some ground, probably back in the big arena. I don't really want to take him on trails until I know that he will go where we ask, when we ask.
So! What have we accomplished in 30 days?
I started out with a horse who had trust issues; who had learned he could that he could resist, and get out of work; a horse who had physical problems that made certain things difficult or painful for him. Those issues are dealt with, and improved. In these 30 days, Kai has learned to stand quietly for saddling, and, under saddle not move off until asked, walk, trot and lope both directions, is starting to understand turns on the haunches and turns on the forehand. He stops and backs up. Every one of these elements needs refinement and practice, but he has the basics now.
One of the reasons I blogged all this is so that people will understand what  challenges a trainer faces with colts. I know there are a lot of people who get it, especially among my blog followers, but there are also those who think that if you send a horse out for 30 days, you should have a broke horse at the end of that time. Every horse is different, and many of them have worse problems than Kai, and many are also easier and can advance quicker than him.
I hope you enjoyed the journey! I'll continue to post his progress as we go along.