Part of the reason I didn't get much time to ride is that I have been setting up the electric fence lines for the grazing paddocks. I built one for Coulee that is in the area where the round pen is, and I hooked it into the landlord's powerful cattle fencer.
The other pen is larger and it basically is a 30 ft. border on two sides of our lawn, kind of an L shape that connects to Beamer's pen. I had to get a little creative for some of the posts as well as buying 15 more step in posts to finish it- but I finally did and turned him out in it for the first time today.
At first, he didn't wander far past the original boundary of his grass paddock.
Then he spotted the opening.... but didn't quite get all the way to the end. There's one place that is a bit of a bottleneck so I grabbed his halter and lead him through there. Then he could see Coulee in her pen, and they both got to calling each other for a few minutes before settling down to some serious grazing.
Does everyone recognize Nitro? This was his first branding and it sure looks like he loves his job.
What a good boy! Sure am pleased with all those boys.
I finally got to ride Coulee today. I was trying all last week to find time to ride, but so many things got in the way.
She's like Geez lady, just climb aboard would ya?
Ted has to replace the floor boards in my new trailer, and we sold the old one so I just rode in the round pen for our first ride. I'm happy to say she is everything I hoped she would be. Super light to the rein and leg, nice turnaround, sidepasses, turns on the haunches and forehand, has a really nice whoa and back up. We'll see how it all holds together once we get into the big arena and out on the trails, but I don't anticipate any issues there.
She does have some holes in her training, as I expected; she is reluctant to accept the bit- probably because of her teeth not being done for so long. However, she doesn't really evade, just doesn't want to open her mouth. I just wait on her and don't make an issue of it.
She is a little jumpy with sudden movement, and again, it's just something I can work with. She's very suspicious of flags, or if I flap the stirrup leathers- so of course I do just that. :o)
Here's a little video I took, some leg yields and turns and her stop and back up, all done one handed on a loose rein.
My wonderful husband did me a big favour this week. I have been looking for a 2 horse angle haul trailer for a while now, and found an affordable one on Vancouver Island- all the way across the province. Since Ted works on Vancouver Island he went out of his way to go look at it, and gave it a thumbs up- and he and his boss, who travel down there with a pick up truck, brought it back for me. So I now have a decent trailer! It needs some minor work before I use it; 4 floor boards to be replaced and the divider needs to be taken out and rebuilt- the padding is about all gone and it needs to be painted (the divider, not the whole trailer).
It has a water tank, and a slide out saddle rack in the tack room.
Oh and a bunch of truck parts that Ted brought back for his truck . I thought he'd pack it full of way more stuff.
Anyway, I'll be travelling in style now! No more rusty old grey trailer!
It feels like August. Summer seems to have hit before spring is over. There are wildfires raging already, and as many of you know one northern Alberta town of 80,000 people was evacuated and as of this time is burning with the fire out of control. As well, 2 other fires in Alberta have evacuation alerts.
By the time I get home from work it's the hottest part of the day, and I usually wait until it's a bit cooler before working Coulee. I had her teeth done yesterday, like I figured her mouth was locked up and her poll was out as well as one vertebrae in her neck.
He took advantage of the sedative to adjust her poll and neck.
I noticed yesterday that Coulee is in heat- full squat and pee heat, so I am postponing riding for a couple of days so that I will have her full attention for our first rides. Of course, Beamer would love to spend some time with her, but he is such a good boy; he called out just a couple of times to her while I was working her.
I worked her in the round pen again today, just some basic stuff and then the flag work. I spent less than 5 minutes on that and she is so much better. Still a little feely on her right side; I am doing more right side work than left side to help get her balanced out.
This evening I talked to the girl I bought her from, just to ask a few more questions. She said she would just step on and ride, no longeing, and no silliness from the mare; that she ditch rode her and traffic or other horses in fields didn't bother her. She rode her out alone too, which is good because I do most of my riding alone.
Don't forget to watch the Kentucky Derby on Saturday! I think Gun Runner will win, but if I was going for a long shot it would be Suddenbreakngnews. I didn't like the way Nyquist finished his last race and even though he is the favourite I don't think he will win the Derby.
Saturday, I headed down to the Cowboy Dressage clinic. I could only go the one day, as I couldn't get someone to look after my dogs both days.
Jenni Grimmet was the teacher; she doesn't claim to be an expert but she is happy to share what she has learned from Eitan Beth- Halachmy . There were 10 riders in the clinic, just right so that everyone got plenty of individual attention.
The morning session was groundwork, getting your horse to be with you and using your energy to do transitions, not relying on your cues; cue, then use your energy- or focus, if that makes more sense. Her saying is: "Thou shalt not dwell on rein or leg" . Ask with an aid if you need to, but don't keep applying the aid. Ask, then use your energy, if he doesn't get it then ask again. Also, punishing the horse is out of the question; if he doesn't get it, don't get after him, just find a way to make it easy for him to understand.
Since CD is all about soft feel and the connection with your horse, it makes sense that you have to start on the ground- just as you do with any discipline. So- no dragging your horse along with the leadline, or pulling him into a stop. So, for example, if you stop, and you prepare your horse for the stop with your body slowing and an exhaled breath, your horse should stop with you. If he doesn't, you don't move your feet; you stay stopped and use your lead line or stick to reposition his body to where he should have stopped- right beside you with your shoulder between his jaw and withers. It took some of the horses a few tries, but most of them had it figured fairly quickly once their handlers realized that they actually could reposition them without moving their feet!
Sounds like pretty simple stuff and pretty much in line with all the natural horsemanship gurus out there.
Jenni demonstration leading with a soft feel and using energy to speed up the horse
When it was riding time, that's when the holes in the ground work show up. So if a particular horse was lagging behind during the ground work, sure enough he was pokey and disinterested under saddle. Or a horse that was too forward on the ground was too forward under saddle. It was interesting to see how Jenni worked with each person to get them through each issue and by the end of the day, there was lots of improvement.
This horse was really interesting- he is gaited, kind of a singlefoot gait when he speeds up, although he does trot too. Here you can see the rider with her energy up- but a tight rein.
And here, she has exhaled, and dropped her energy level - and loosened the rein- and the horse just relaxed down with her.
The Cowboy Dressage Court is perfect for helping a rider focus on where and when to do a transition- much like a traditional dressage court but with a few more elements like the octagon in the middle, and ground poles at certain points. It is 20 meters wide and 60 meters long. Here is a link to their Rules and Guidelines.
This clinic only scratched the surface of what I have yet to learn about this discipline. Wish I could have gone back for the second day as they covered working over the ground poles and riding a test. But- she only lives an hour and a half away, so I could get my paperwork in order and haul down there a few times this summer for instruction.
I did come home with some things to work on with Coulee. I did the basic leading, and there are plenty of holes in that! She tends to walk with her shoulder at my shoulder- kind of taking charge. Then she also tends to lag behind if she isn't sure of where I am going, so we worked on her position today. Also worked on her stopping square with me; I only had to fix that twice. Coulee hasn't been out of her pen for a few days, so I figured she would be a little wound up. I did some in hand bending work, (stuff from the clinic) and she is starting to loosen up much better in the neck, flexing both ways. I took her halter off and sent her out; we were in the round pen, moving her out at the trot and lope. as I figured, there was a little bit of bucking as she broke into a lope- nothing serious, more like she was flipping me the bird for not having taken her out of her dry pen for 3 days. She settled in after a round or two.
After that, I did some flag work with her. I had previously seen that she was nervous about the flag;sure would like to know more about her past training. I think they did a lot of free longeing because she is good at that but not much in hand work.
Anyway, she was giving it the hairy eyeball when I picked up the flag, so I just led her around as per our earlier lesson only this time I was taking the flag out in front of me, swishing it back and forth on the ground. Horses will be more curious than afraid if it's something they are following rather than something that is coming at them. Then I picked it up and walked with it in the air- and it was interesting to see where her comfort level was with that. At or above eye level was better than below eye level. I did several other things to get her to look with curiosity rather than fear, and my goal was to be able to rub it on her neck while she stood still. As you watch this video, notice how she is more comfortable with the flag at eye level. See how much she backs up as I hold it just below eye level, and how she stops and accept it when she can see all of it? Just as I was shutting the camera off, she was licking and chewing. I think she will be better with it tomorrow.
It's also interesting that she is more reluctant on her right side, that is also the side she is the stiffest on. Teeth being done on Tuesday- should make a difference and I am finally going to get on her this week!
Just a quick picture to illustrate what it's talking about in the video I posted earlier today. Coulee, striding deep underneath herself, elevated in the withers, relaxed level head and neck carriage. This is what I want when she is under saddle! I think I got the right horse this time.
Nikki form Why Not Nikker blog posted this on Facebook this morning. After having the body work on Coulee, I found this very interesting and helpful and it definitely is food for thought as I start my journey with her. I really think that I am going the right direction with Cowboy Dressage and this video explains a lot about the type of movement they are striving for.
Shayla visited yesterday and we got the body work done- or at least started, there is more to do- on Coulee.
Look at her eye and mouth at the start of the video as compared to the end. Shayla worked on her neck, her first rib and something to do with her hind quarters- I'll get her to clarify all that.
I practised doing the neck work- under supervision- it's pretty cool how well it works. The next photo shows the area I tried to work the other day and could barely get into- I guess it helps if you adjust the ribs first!
The stretch they are doing at the end of the video is called the Drunken Sailor, the idea is to get her to stand with one leg crossed in front of the other to give her a stretch all the way to the wither. Try it on yourself- take your arm and stretch it across your body. It will stretch all the way to your spine.
See how her left hip is a bit lower? When Shayla worked on that Coulee really leaned into her, she was loving it! And she released with licking and chewing and big sighs for about 5 minutes afterward.
The program will be to massage her today and tomorrow see if she wants adjusting in the neck, and for the next few days long trot her in the round pen to keep her loosened up.
There is still a ways to go, but we're on the right track.
Once her teeth are done in a week- I should have a happy horse!
Coulee is booked to have her teeth done on May 2nd. On April 30 and May 1, I'm auditing a Cowboy Dressage clinic with Jenni Grimmet in Sagle Idaho- just over an hour from here. This is the direction I will be going with Coulee so I'm really excited to get some pointers to use once I start riding her after her dentist appointment. I can haul to the big outdoor arena, and can't wait to get out on the trails with her- I was told she loves to get out on the trails and was used in the mountains before.
I had an extra pink halter that I had made to sell, and decided to keep it because it looks good on her.
I'm making progress on her snarky moments- mostly it has to do with food, she probably had to eat with a bunch of horses and used attitude to keep her spot at the feed. She is down to half hearted attempts to intimidate me now. *grin*.
As I spend time with Coulee, I am finding things I like and don't like. She thinks she can be crabby and that I will let her do what she wants- like when I'm leading her and she thinks she can put her ears back and snatch a bite of grass- but what I like is that with one correction, she doesn't try again. I think as we get to know each other, she'll get over that. We had a really good day yesterday. I brought her out for hand grazing, and to kill time I played ball with the dogs. She was really good with them running around her, pretty much ignored them even though they were like little tornadoes around her as they played.
She even had to check out the ball....
Hmmmpff! What's all the fuss about?
After that I did some massage on her. I used my oil Release on her forehead, and let her sniff Grounding from both nostrils, then worked on her where neck joins her shoulders. The day before it was so tight there that I couldn't get in to work the muscles; but this time I could get in almost 4 inches under her shoulder blade. I got a big sigh release when I worked her left side but only a small release on the tighter right side. Her back shows no sign of soreness. It will be interesting to do the bodywork this weekend- if I have permission I'll video it.
I had good intentions of riding yesterday. I brought Coulee out and saddled her up. I was going to take her to the round pen, work her a bit and then ride her in there. I brought her over to visit Ted and Dave for a bit first, and Dave and I got to talking about her stiffness. I showed him how she doesn't like to bend her neck and just swings her hind end around instead of bending, and how tight she is in her shoulder muscles. The more we explored her, the less inclined I was to get on her. If she is so uncomfortable on the ground, she will be even more so with a bridle and a rider. I did do a little massage on her and got one tiny release of licking and chewing.
Shayla will be here this weekend and we'll do some body work on her, and I have a call in to my equine dentist- if I can't get him soon I'll have the vet do her - which I don't like doing because they are nowhere near as knowledgeable about equine dentistry as he is (at least, the vets available here - not every vet.)
So my question to you dear readers- would you just ride her and not ask for any flexing, ignore her discomfort and just keep her legged up by doing laps in an arena or go down the road, while waiting for the dentist appointment?
As for me- I believe that I can spend the time building my relationship with her by taking her out and doing bodywork, some hand grazing every day, and maybe some ground work over obstacles- she already walked over the big hay tarp that the farmers left on the ground all winter. While I'd love to just be riding her I don't want to start off by having a sore horse; I want to have a horse that's happy to be with me, a willing partner. And right now, I don't have that. I want to build that even if I have to wait.
I found this post on Facebook- and it was a bit of an eye opener for me. Think you understand all there is to know about horse body language? Take a read of this: Calming Signals
Coulee is settling in fairly well. Cows on one side of her, Beamer on the other, a nice big shelter, free choice grass hay, minerals salt and water- what's not to love?
..... especially with all that luscious grass! I hand grazed her for about 20 minutes today. Yes, that little electric fence is all that is between Beamer and the mare. He didn't come any closer. Good boy!
I saddled her up (my saddle fits, yay!) and put her in the round pen to see where she is at. The first thing I notice is that she is really stiff in the neck laterally; I had to take the side of the halter to bring her nose around to her side- both ways. Also checked movement in her jaw when I saw that and she needs her teeth done, her mouth is all locked up, not much grinding movement at all poor girl.
I had her walk trot and lope both ways. No issues that I could see.
One thing I like is that she is a rabicano- hard to tell in the above photo but her flanks are silver.
So we have a few things to work on as far as ground work goes, got to get those teeth done as soon as I can, I hate to ask much of her until we do that.
My friend Janice was kind enough to hitch up her truck and trailer and her and I and a whole bunch of border collies headed to Olds Alberta on Sunday morning to pick up my new mare. We tool all 3 of my dogs- Tess of course; couldn't leave the pup behind, or old Reba so they all got to come, along with Janice's dog Kali, who is a daughter of my Tess dog. Janice has one of those Cordura dog hammocks for the back seat of the truck, and we put Kali and Reba in there and Tess and Thea got their beds in the back of the truck, which has a really nice tall canopy. Very cool truck, by the way, a 2013 black Ford with twin turbo V6 engine- passing slowpokes was not a problem!
The mare seemed to be really sensible, a little lighter bodied than I thought- but she had been ridden a bunch lately, and the seller said she didn't feed her that morning because she doesn't like to feed them before they are hauled. That kind of ticked me off- that was one hungry mare by the time we got her where we could feed her.
It was a long day, but we made it back to Janice's place by 8:30 PM ( I left home at 5:30 AM) and put Coulee in a nice big stall for the night. They had been calling her Chloe but I really dislike that name after seeing it plastered all over the tabloids with the word Kardashian after it, so I changed it to something that sounds similar but a little more Western- Coulee.
3 of Janice's horses were able to visit over the stall door, so there was a lot of squealing going on. Coulee was really hungry, but also wanted to visit. There was squealing going on throughout the night. Janice went out a little later to throw her horses some hay, and had to enter the stall to put some hay over to an outside stall (we had her in a stall that bordered 2 stalls and used part of the alleyway to make a large area for her) and danged if she didn't pin her ears and snake her neck at Janice. I get that it was a long day, she was hungry and overwhelmed by the other horses but that pinny eared stuff is not allowed! And of course, Janice straightened her out about that- but it's something I will be watching for in the future.
In the morning she was back to her normal self. Coluee and Jazz (Janice's horse who is a daughter of Beamer and Coyote Belle) are actually cousins- they each have a parent sired by Durable Shine, so we took some photos of them together. Lots of similarities, they both have brown muzzles, long ears and big hineys. Jazz has a nicer larger eye and is thicker bodied, but they are quite similar. It will be fun riding them together this year.
Jazz on the left, Coulee on the right
Coulee was so good, just stood quietly, no fussing.
Oh those ears!
Oops the photos is a little crooked- the barn isn't built downhill!
Once I got her home, Beamer was really happy to see her! He was pretty lonely the last little while with just cows for company.
I'll get more photos of her tomorrow; I will be doing round pen basics on her just to see where she is at- I already know that she doesn't have much of that, but what little I did with her today she picked up quickly. She's going to be fun!
EDITED- Just bought this mare, hope to have her home by Monday.
I found a really nice mare.....
She is related to Coyote Belle in that her sire is a half brother (by Durable Shine, a son of Shining Spark). She is the right age, 7 years old, the perfect colour, has reining training and mountain and trail experience. Her dam carries the blood of Peppy San Badger and King.
These are videos that were taken today
I really like her. And- she is affordable so that I would be able to buy the palomino mare too, if she works out. They are both mares that go back to Genuine Doc and Peppy San Badger- Love that!
I almost didn't inquire about her because the photos in the ad are terrible, and it says 60 days training. However, it turns out that she has about 6 months of training, is still in training, and her video is much better than her photos.
I think these were taken last summer. Here is the ad text:
"Rosie is a 6 yr old quarter horse mare standing 14'3 hands high with a stocky build. She has 60 days of professional training. Rosie should excel in barrels, coworkers, cutting, roping, etc or could be a excellent addition to a broodmare herd . She is a nice mover and is quite catty. Great for the farrier, loads and trailers great. Stands quiet to be saddle and lunges well. Dream to work with on the ground , loves attention. Know all her gaits as well lead changes under saddle. Just needs to be finished and taken in the direction you want"
I assume coworkers means cow work ;)
Here is her video- It was taken in January just after they sent her back to the trainer that she is still at.
She does look green but hopefully she has advanced a lot since this was taken. Look how much better she uses herself than the horse in the last post I did. She may not be as broke but I like her.
The owner of that last horse still hasn't responded to my message even though she has seen it. And I haven't heard back about the palomino mare yet- maybe by the weekend I'll know more about her.
I took Clancy out for one last photo shoot before her long trip to her new home.
New home? Did you say new home?
Yes, Miss Clancy, new home. where you can use that powerful hind end chasing cows.
Oh. Well alright then.
I loaded up and left here at 5:40 AM and got to Longview Alberta by 11 AM . Clancy as usual hauled like a dream- this is one well travelled mare; she was born west of Edmonton Alberta, bought by a lady from Cranbrook BC, sold to the lady in Millerville Ab. that I bought her from, then here to Creston BC, then off to Spiritwood Saskatchewan.
The people who picked her up are team penners, so Lisa (cdncowgirl) if you pen in the Saskatchewan penning association shows you might see her in action this summer. Russel Kahl is her new owner.
I didn't manage to connect with the lady who owns Dot E as she had a business appointment that she couldn't skip and I think I have talked myself out of pursuing that mare.
I did find another horse that was posted just yesterday - if I had known I would have made the time to drive to Strathmore to go try her out.
Here is her info:
BL Whiz Kid/Pepinic Candy mare. Trained and competed as a reiner with Jesse Beckley before changing direction and being used in English shows. Won Reserve Hunter under Saddle and Hunt Seat Equitation in Quarter Horse Nationals in the fall of 2014. Shown in local shows by prior owner, jumping to 3'. Willing, forgiving, and loves attention. ~14.3 hh.
Here is a video of her being ridden western I did notice something about her- I'd like to hear feedback from all of you to see if you pick up on the same thing.
Here is the line up of horses I am considering. I may even buy 2 if things work out that way.
This first horse is a 3 year old, she was started last year, has trailed cattle, had a rope swung off her, and is currently being used for calving season on a ranch. Lots of ranch riding done on her already. They did a little bit of roping with her and it looks like she is a good minded young mare. A little younger than I like but has more riding than some 5 yr olds. As long as she is sound, she might be a nice mare for me. She looks like she has a good solid build. She comes from a line of cutting horses descended from Smart Little Lena. She is close to the top of my budget.
Catchin Sun Spots
The next horse is a daughter of Cat Itchi, she is 4 years old and was trained for cutting by Dustin Gronnet but didn't make his show string. Since then she has been used on the ranch. Her owner is a mother with 3 children who says she only rides horses she feels safe on- she rides this one. This mare is used on the ranch. They are selling her to pay for a barrel horse for one of the daughters. She is at the very top of my budget- maybe even over as the lady said she might come down to my budget- but it's not a given. This is the only photo I have of her, but I will be trying her out on Monday.
Dot E
Next up is an 11 year old mare that I really like. She carries the bloodlines of Peppy San Badger and Genuine Doc. She trail rides, has been used in parades, will pull a sleigh with kids or logs, is pretty much bomb proof. Has raised some foals. I have a friend checking her out for me as she is a long way from here. I have a good feeling about this mare- and if I buy her I may be able to buy another one too, if she is a good kids horse I'd like to have her around for my nieces to ride so I can take them out on trail rides.
HQH Genuine Blonde
Then there is this mare; she is currently in foal, and comes from foundation bloodlines. She does trace back to the Hancock horses but it's 9 generations back so I might overlook that. Here is what her owner says: " She has been rode inside and out, she has a great willing mind and very easily forgives ... we normally give her to the beginner or people who we aren't sure how good of a ride they are as we know she is safe . Never bucked reared or anything silly. Not herd bound . Loves having a job to do. She's a big solid mare but as sweet as a puppy .. My mother in law rode her all winter as my mom hasn't rode in 14 years and wanted to get back to it . So she spent the winter trail riding . She knows the basics but has never perfected them."
DAL Diamond Lady
This one I would go check out in May after she foals- they are keeping the foal- and I should be able to ride her a little bit, enough to get a feel for her and see if she would work out for me. But I wouldn't be able to bring her home until the fall. This would only work if I bought the palomino too.
Miss Thea is three months old now, and I sure am happy with her. She's very smart, and gets more biddable every day. She lays down, sits, and understands leave it and NO!. It's a work in progress on that'll do, which to me means stop what you are doing and come here. I tell her "do your business" when I take her out for that so I hope she will be like Tess and do it on command. Useful for long trips. I started a new command today- stay. That's going to take a bit I think, because when I move she sticks to me, but she's smart enough to figure it out soon. Also have to work on heeling.
She's a little sweetheart, everybody loves her. She likes little kids, goes wiggling up to them all happy.
I hope to be able to take her with me riding soon- but not here as I'm not allowed to ride the fields in the spring. When I'm leading the horse she stays right with us so it shouldn't be a problem getting her to follow.
Love my pup!
It seems that spring is a great time for changes. There are a couple of things going on here: We may be on the verge of moving, with my sister and her husband as our landlords. That is really good news for us, I just hope they can find the right place that fits our budget and their budget. Exciting!
And then there is miss Clancy.
I decided to list her for sale. I want a horse with a little more feel, one that will really move off my leg and soften in my hands. Clancy will do it, but it is rather grudgingly. She just doesn't enjoy it like she enjoys getting out on the trails and seeing new country, but I want a horse for both. So within just a day of listing her she is headed to her new home on Monday, where she will have a job as a team penning horse and checking cattle. Very fitting for her.
Of course.... that means the hunt is on! Not my favourite thing. But I have 3 contenders lined up so far and a few more to sort through.
Just had to share this lovely photo of Rio getting a bath the other day. What a handsome and big boy! And look how nicely he is standing ground tied while he gets bathed. He sure is like his daddy when it comes to having attention!
