shesahorsegirl

Moving Horses.

2008-05-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

I finally moved the horses. I let Brandy out with Tango and Easter. I really excepted there to be a fight of some sort, some bucking, kicking, squealing, etc, but nope. Easter didn't care a bit, and tango was just excited that his girlfriend was now with him.

Sheik was pretty upset at first, but he settled down nicely. He listens a lot better and acts a lot happier to see me when he's not out in the pasture.

I went out and brushed him this afternoon to give him some company.

Then I turned him out tonight, and put Brandy and Tango into the corral. I started to put Easter in there too, but at the end I decided not too. They might all get along in the big pasture, but that's a lot smaller and she didn't look real happy with Brandy. So I left her out with Sheik.

There didn't seem to be ANY fireworks with them. When I went inside they were grazing a few feet away, and when I went out to check on them a little while ago they were standing next to each other grazing. they look completely happy and that's pretty cool. =]

xD

2008-05-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

SoI worked with Sheik this morning. He was pretty good. He still being kind of crazy when it comes to trotting, but he was defintely setting up a lot better then he was the last time I worked with him. He also backed up pretty well.

He was also pretty friendly tonight when I went to feed him. He came over and let me pet him for a while. I really need to seperate him from Brandy though, they are so buddy sour and it's not fun. She's also teaching him some bad habits, which is driving me crazy.

Poneh face. =]

2008-05-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Worked with Sheik yesterday. He was really easy to catch, but he was in a pretty crabby mood otherwise. He didn't want to walk, or else he didn't want to trot which was pretty annoying. I need to bring the whip down again I guess. He's setting up okay...he was doing it better last week, so we need to work on that a little more too. I also brushed him really quickly.

Emergency?

2008-05-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

Of course no one likes to think about it, a fire, a bad storm, etc, but it happens.

And today we started talking about we personally would do if we had, say a fire, and time to actually evacute.

With a two horse trailer and four horses, it would be tough.

But we decided that we would take Sheik, because he's the favorite and let's face it, the most vauluable. And Easter, because she could not outrun a fire or a storm, and the smoke inhalluation would be very bad for her. They also load very well, which would make it easier...

I would feel bad not taking Brandy, especially because she is not mine, but I think her owners would understand if said fire ever happens. Plus she would be with Tango, and of course we'd put our numbers on their halters, and possibly, as someone suggested, spray paint our number on their side, provided we have time.

If we did have quite a while, I would of course, come back and get Brandy, along with Tango, as long as he loaded.

If it's a tornado, of course, there is no time for that sort of thing, so provided that we have any amount of time, I'd turn all of them out, and they'd have to fend for themselves, which actually, they'd probably do very well.
Hopefully and probably this will never happen, but it's always good to have a plan, right?

Happy Birthday Sheik. =D

2008-05-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

Today is Sheik's third birthday. =]
I've had him for almost two years. Hard to believe he isn't a baby anymore.
I think, since I got him as a yearling, we've acomplished a lot together.
Besides the halter/lead/trailer/tying/clipping/bathing/saddle training we've done, we've also taken him enough places that he stays pretty calm, and I've showed him three times too.
=]

Shedding...Shedding..and more Shedding.

2008-05-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

Sheik was in a good mood today. =D
First off, this morning when I was feeding the horses I was petting Sheikers, like every morning, and Easter came over, like every morning, and they are touching noses, but instead of Easter biting him, like every morning, Sheik reached over and bit her. lol, it was kind of funny. Then Easter bit him. XD It was so unlike Sheik though, to bit another horse. Usually he just backs off like 'don't hurt me.'
Then later on I went down and caught him, which was pretty easy, surpringly. So I did two showmanship courses with him and he did pretty good. He's not being all Iwannatrotrightnow like he was last week. He's also setting up really nicely. =]
Then I groomed him. He's finally shedding out, and starting to look good. He was nice and shiny when I was done. Then I wormed him. He wasn't real happy about that. XD
My mom brushed Brandy while I brushed Sheik. She was REALLY shedding. The ground was covered with white hair when we were done. I also wormed her.
And then I groomed Easter, who also was shedding a TON. Her face has shedded off really pretty. =] And we wormed her.
And then I went back to Sheik and did some pivots with him. Well I was teaching him to do pivots. lol. He's doing really well though, I'm proud of him. I think he'll get the hang of it fairly easily, hopefully before District.

Then today when I fed him, I brought out my camera and took these pics of him. =]

Show Season 2008

2008-05-07T14:36:00.001-07:00

Show season is finally about to start for me. =]

The first show of the year is on June 2nd and it's the 4H District Horse Show.
I'm just taking Sheik, not Brandi, and showing him halter and showmanship.
Two of the other horse club members are taking their horses too.
So we are all going down together in the same trailer, to save gas.
I'm taking Sheik over the night before, to my friend's horse, and then we'll all go to the show the next morning.

"Just" A Horse

2008-01-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

"From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a horse," or, "that's a lot of money for "just a horse". They don't understand the distance travelled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a horse." Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a horse." Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a horse," but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a horse,' and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a horse" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day. If you, too, think it's "just a horse," then you will probably understand phrases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise." "Just a horse" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a horse" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person. Because of "just a horse" I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a horse" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. "Just a horse" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day. I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a horse" but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a woman." So the next time you hear the phrase "just a horse" just smile, because they "just" don't understand."

2008

2008-01-20T13:47:00.000-08:00

Show season 2008 doesn't start till Febuary 2nd, but since my horses are still fuzzy and still on winter break there's no way I'd be ready for it, so I'm just gonna up and watch all the riding classes so I know what expect for this year.
My first show isn't till March, and even then I'm probably only going to take Brandy, my riding horse to the first show.
And before that, still in March, I have a horsemanship clinic to take Brandy too.

Taking a few days off...

2007-10-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

Since Sheik did sooo good at our show Saturday I'm giving him most of this week off. Our next show is Novemeber third, so we have less then three weeks to get ready for it, but I'm not to worried about having him ready, because he basically knows what he's supposed to do, we just have to work on perfecting it a little more.

Show number 2

2007-10-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took Sheik to his second show. We went to a show a lot further away, about an hour drive. It was his longest ride in the trailer, and he did awesome! When we got to the fairgrounds they were on class number 9 and we were in class 35 and 42. So needless to say we were pretty early. I left him in the trailer for a while, and then brought him out and we groomed him. He was so white and pretty! And I put on his new halter and took him out to graze him while we waited. I also warmed him up, making sure he was trotting and all that. He did so good consdering it was a new place. And he heard his first police siren and train, and he was fine. Even when a plastic bag flew up in his face he only freaked out a little bit. Then finally it was time for halter. Our first class was color halter,a nd there were nine horses, one of which was a world champion, and all of which were older then SHeik, but he ended up placing eighth, which isn't to bad.
The next class, Young Geldings went much better. We had to trot, but he did! I was so proud of him, and we ended up getting second!!!
And here are some pics:

Before the show, in his pretty halter and all clean!

After the show, with our ribbon. We both look terrible though.

Yipee!!!

2007-09-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

So after the show me and my friend, R, were talking about where we wanted to show next. We couldn't think of ANY shows until spring, and that was disappointing cause it was so far away from right now. But yesterday R's mom calls and says she found a show for us!
It's on October 13th, and then there's another on November 3rd. THey are at an arena about 45 mins away or so, but my parents are already cool with the idea!
There are 84 classes!!!! I'm gonna show Sheik defintely in Halter, and probably showmanship too. And then either Brandy or Sadie in western pleasure, and possibly western horsemanship, but I don't know about that one yet.
Yay!

The Show.

2007-09-11T06:57:00.001-07:00

So the show. Sorry it took me quite a while to get around to this post, but anyway here it is. Better late then never!
So I took Sheik to the fairgrounds about...3:0oish, and I walked him around a while, and then my friend's mom let me put him in one of the stalls they set up for their horses, because they were keeping their horses there all weekend. I put him in there and he settled down right away and ate his hay. He was really good and calm. He let ppl pet him, ooh over him, etc. I groomed him and got him all pretty looking, and put on his nice halter. Then at 6:00 me and my friend ran to go get changed for the show, while our mom's signed us up. Then I we went back to the barn, got our horses and walked out to the arena, since it was 6:30 when the show was supposed to start. We get there and we find out that the judge is running late. Okay. So we stand at the arena and wait. The judge doesn't take to long, but we've alreadyh been waiting for fifteen minutes. So then the first class went, and then the second class started and I'm not sure if Sheik was upset cause Sadie, my friend that was in that classes horse, left, or what, but he got a little antzy. And then he actually sort of ran over me! I was standing with my back to him, watching my friend do her pattern, when the clapping spooked him, he jumped forward, hit my foot with a hoof, I fell over and he got loose!!!!! Luckily my dad was there to catch him. So after that I walked him around to get him calm but he was still a little antzy. So anyway then finally it was our turn to go into the ring. We did the pattern pretty well. He didn't trot but oh well, better next time. And he wouldn't stand for the judge, and when I Was looking over the tape later, I realized he was standing still - until the judge started to walk around him,and she was on crutches! The crutch must have scared him. But then when we went to stand in the other end of the ring, he ws perfect! but we still came in last. Oh well.
So then western pleasure. Me and my friend had spent a long time getting ready for walk trot wp, just like the book said it would be. We get there, my friend goes into the ring and oh guess what? It's walk trot lope. So me and my friend both came in last of our age groups. But whatever, we'll do better next time, especially when it's walk trot, instead of walk trot lope at the last minute. ; )

It's Tomorrow...!

2007-09-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

It seems a little strange and amazing to think "It's tomorrow!" I have been really planning this show since I got Sheik a year ago, and have been working for it since May when my horseclub and I went to a show together to watch.
I've spent all summer working for this show and now it's almost here! And yeah, I'm defintely nervous!
I feel good about Sadie and western pleasure. I rode Sadie over the weekend I am doing soooooo much better trotting! I am thrilled and basically I am just hoping I don't come in last!
I didn't get to work with Sheik yesterday, because it was raining. But he prob needed the day off anyway. Besides I think we are ready, as long as he behaves himself at the fairgrounds.
So today as long as it doesn't rain some more I'm gonna give him a really good bath. And then I'm gonna wash all my brushes so I don't make him dirtier, then I'm gonna get everything together for the show.
Tomorrow If he needs it I'm gonna give him a quicky bath to make him clean again and then prob do most of the brushing at the show, or at least all the last minute brushing.
Wish me luck!!!!! And Sheik!!!

8 Days To Go!

2007-08-29T12:02:00.001-07:00

Sheik did even better with his trotting today. He's finally started going off my command and body laugange which is awesome! Towards the end of our lesson I didn't even have to use the whip! We just have to work on stopping now. He stops okay, just not very fast, So I'm hoping that will come with time. =)

10 Days To Go

2007-08-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

10 days to go to the show. Now that we've got baths down, and trotting is going well I'm feeling pretty good about it. I still have to do clipping but I think it will go fairly well.
So the last two days I've worked on more trotting. Today Sheik did pretty well. He still won't do it without the whip competely, though towards the end I didn't need to touch him with it which is good. He's also stopping a lot better.
Hopefully within a few days he won't need the whip at all. =)

Saturday's Clinic

2007-08-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday was our clinic. It went very well. I didn't bother to wash Sheik or anything, because he was fairly clean. He loaded very well and we got to the fairgrounds pretty early, so we just left him in the trailer for probably close to a half and hour and he was awesome. And there was even a helicopter (One of those life line ones or whatever it's called) landing in the golf course behind the fairgrounds and he was fine!
Then everyone else showed up about the same time. All four of the show club members were there, along with P's friend T. They brought their horses but R and J didn't bring there's.
We didn't really do any specialized work. The other girls rode a little and did some other stuff and basically I spent the whole time working on trotting. He was doign really good by the end which was awesome! I also let J work with him a little while and he did very good for her too. She actually got him trotting more. She was cordinated enough to use the whip and hold the lead at teh same time. lol.
So then I let my parents take Sheik home and I went over to R's house and we rode Sadie. It took us forever to get her tacked up (we used my new show saddle) and we had to get a girth that fit and the breast collar, and just several little things. Finally we got to ride. R rode first, and then I rode. I did a little bit of trotting (Still a work in progress) and I did a lot of figure eights and we walked over some poles. It was fun. =)

Bella

2007-08-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

Bella LOVES being groomed. She is always happinest when she's being groomed. She'll attack you when she see's you have a brush, and she'll stand in front of you until her start brushing here. She especially loves her neck being brushed.
http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i257/horseyanime17/?action=view&current=100_3303.flv
Click here^

Bathophoiba

2007-08-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago I tried to give Sheik a bath, but he wasn't very good. But then someone I was asking gave me a really good idea for getting him used to getting baths. Those hose nozzles with different settings. You start out on mist, so they get used to the noise and the feel, and then you move up to the shower setting.
So I tried it out a few days ago and it worked great! Sheik still moved around a lot, but I managed to get him all clean and that's the important part. =)

2007-08-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

I worked with Sheik today. He did very well, but he was very "lovey" which was kind of funny. He kept nuzzling my shoulders and wanting me to rub his face. He set up pretty nicely for me, and walked pretty nicely too. Then he let my mom lead him around. She's going to show him in Halter At Showmanship too, so he gets an extra class.

Rain, oh rain go away.

2007-08-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today we did need the rain, because things have been getting pretty dry. It's hurricane Erin, that hit us this morning. It was a lot of rain, in a short time, but luckily we didn't get it as bad as our town did. There was some major flooding there.
However, in that short time Sheik did manage to get veeeeeeeerrrrrry dirty. This morning when I fed him he was no longer white! lol. As you can see he was cleaner when I went out to give him dinner.
Hopefully we won't get to much more rain. I think we might get hit by hurrican Dean also. But I'm hoping we don't. With our show coming so soon, I want to have as much time as possible to get Sheik ready, and having it rain for a week would defintely not be a help!

ThReE wEeKs To Go

2007-08-19T19:17:00.001-07:00

In this picture you can see Sheik's brand new halter. It's a rope halter from

Valhoma. Pink, orange and lime green is a little girly, but the only other choice was yellow and black, and I liked this one a lot better.
Anyway there is about three weeks left till our first show, and we still have a few things to get down before then. Trotting, is defintely the biggest thing. He's still not doing it in hand, like he should be. But we are working on it.
And Bathing, is another important thing to get down. I'm hoping he stays clean enough that I can just sponge off the worst spots and he'll look great, but probably he'll get dirty right before and I'll have to bathe him. Clipping is the last thing, and I don't really imagine a problem. I started rubbing it on him the other day, and he was very good about it, except that he didn't like it on his nose. I think it tickled.
Otherwise he is doing awesome. He is setting up better then ever. He does it right away, with very few cues, and he's standing very square. So that's a good thing!

More About Shows

2007-08-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since my last entry. It's been a lot of just setting Sheik up and trying to get him to set up faster. Yesterday we had another clinic, but I didn't take Sheik. Instead I rode my friend's pony, who I'll probably be riding in Western Pleasure. I did better then I thought I would, and I did alright with the trotting, so hopefully with a little more pratice I'll be doing pretty good for the show!

As for Sheik, I'm giving him today off, then tomorrow we are going to start on clipping.

. . . . .

2007-07-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since the last entry. I was gone for a few days last week, and busy the rest of the time.
Yesterday we had our second clinic, this time it was supposed to be on grooming, but our judge/trainer didn't show up.
Anyway Sheik loaded very good, once he got a little bit of grass for a bribe. And he went right into the arena this time. This time there were two more horses, my friend being able to bring hers, and the other girl bringing a second horse.
Because we had no judge/trainer, we decided to do things our own way. We spent a while warming up and then went over a showmanship pattern. Sheik didn't trot once again, but after that my dad came up behind him and when I told him to trot he'd touch Sheik's leg with the whip, and Sheik trotted! (And galloped a few times...) but he did really well! Then once it got to hot to do anything else we all sat around talking and Sheiky was so good. He just stood around, playing with me and his brushes. =)
Then we brought him home and he trotted down to see Bella. =)

Countdown

2007-07-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

60 days till me and Sheik's first show!!!!

The Clinic

2007-07-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry it took me a few days to get this posted. But anyway, the clinic went really well. Sheik loaded very well both times. And he did very good once he was there. It was only his third time off the property (once for gelding, once for coggins, and then for the clinic) and he wasn't spooky or anything. Sheik is really level heaed about that sort of thing. He watches and listens, but if nothing hurts him, he settles down. Everyone said that most two years old won't go into the indoor arena, and Sheik wasn't real sure at first, but then he followed me in. Looking back I'm a little surprised and very proud of him. He's on pasture 24/7 so he never goes into a building. And I know he's never been in an arena like that!
Everyone said that he did very well for a two year old.
We went over a showmanship pattern, and he did very well except that he didn't trot, and he was a little impatient during the standing square wait time. Other then he did everything very well and I'm very proud of him. Here are some pictures.

2007-07-08T21:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I had to take a break from working with Sheik for a few days because of rain and mud, and spent the rest of the week working on giving him a bath and getting him ready for our show clinic that we had today. And we took him to the vet to get his coggins test done. I'll post a few pics from the clinic tomorrow, but I'll tell you a little about what happened at it today.

First of all I spent forever giving Sheik a bath and getting him looking good for the clinic. Then I started leading him to the trailer when Bella decided that she didn't want to be left alone. She was galloping around her pasture, and then I looked back to see what she was doing, and she tried to jump over the fence, but ended up crashing into it and taking out a section of fence, and landing on the other side! Amazingly there's only a little scratch on one of her legs. But eventually I did get Sheik loaded in the trailer, and he loaded very nicely. Just walked right in. =)
And he was awfully good when we got to the fairgrounds. He took everything in very well and wasn't spooky or anything like that. I think he was a little freaked, but he still was very good. Everyone said that he is very good for a two year old. =)
And we were told that both Sheik and I have good potinontienl (Sp??)

Bridled.

2007-06-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

So yep, as you can see from the pic in the corner, Sheik is finally bridled! He was really good about it! He's wearing a hackamore bit right now, but in a few days I might borrow a sidepull to use on him.
I've done a little bit of driving w/him too, and he does pretty good. He turns, stops and backs up, but he doesn't go forward yet, so we are still working on that.
And yesterday I put my foot in the stirrup like I was getting on a few times and he was really great! He didn't even move around!

More About Saddling

2007-06-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

So here is Sheik in his saddle and blanket, which is actually my old saddle and blanket, but he looks pretty good in it. He is such a good boy. I put it on and cinched it up and put down the stirrups and he didn't care at all. He just stood there and let me do it. Then I let him walk around a little in it, and he wasn't so sure about walking with it on, but he got better as it went on.
Tomorrow I am going to bring my bridle down and put that on him. I'm going to use a hackamore bit on him for a while, and then eventually I will move on to a snaffle.

Saddled and Cinched

2007-06-10T19:21:00.000-07:00

Sheik is taking the saddle like an old pro. =)
He just stands quietly while I put the saddle on and today when I cinched it up he didn't care a bit. He did look at me once like "What are you doing?" But that was it. So here is finally a pic of him wearing his saddle.

More Saddling

2007-06-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

I worked on saddling with Sheik again. I put the saddle on him and he was so good! He just stood there while I put it on him. Then we walked him around with it on (While my Mom held it so it wouldn't fall off and scare him) and he wasn't so sure about walking with it on, but after a few minutes he got over it and started walking. Then I put the girth down and cinched it up loosely, and he was so good about it. I was kind of worried that he wouldn't like the feel of the girth, but he didn't mind it a bit!

I also was looking at Sheik's bloodlines a little today, looking at his registeration papers, and his Grand sire on his Dam's side is Cinemax. Who was an APHA champion in just about EVERYTHING. English and Western. And I found a few pics of him on Google. Here's a link to see them for yourself. http://circlerfarms.www8.50megs.com/Cinemax.htm

Saddled!

2007-06-08T19:32:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I finally got the saddle on Sheik! I have tried before then, usually the result was the saddle landing in the ground (luckily it's an old saddle) and my horse running away! But I decided to do a little different appoarach this time. I kind of eased it up onto his back, and he stood while I put it on him three times. The first two times I only left it on for a minute so he wouldn't get scared, but the third time I left it on longer.

So today I kept working with the saddle. I'm starting out our "lessons" with ten or so minutes of getting him to stand square and other halter/showmanship stuff. he's gotten very good at it, and some times I don't even have to tell him to move his feet!
Then I put the saddle blanket on him, and then I get out the saddle. Today I put it on him twice. Both for very long times. He did sooooo great!!! He didn't even try to bolt or anything like that! Tomorrow I'm going to put the stirrups down (They are tied on top of the saddle) and if he's doing good I'll probably cinch it up loosely and walk him around with it on for a while.
Once he's got the saddle one we are gonna move on bridling!

Riding Easter

2007-06-06T16:57:00.001-07:00

After working with Sheik and Bella I decided I wanted to ride Easter! Novemeber was the last time I rode her. I don't ride her very often because she's 21 and besides, she's to easy for me. But I wanted to ride anyway. So I caught her and saddled her up and took her for a short ride around the pasture. She did really good for Easter. And we had a good time.

Tango was pretty funny though. He kept galloping and bucking around us as if to say "I'm free and you aren't gonna catch me!"

Saddle Work

2007-06-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

Today after working with Sheik on our usual setting up work, which he has gotten very good at, I put the saddle blanket on him a few times and then I got out the saddle. Instead of trying to plop it on him like I usually do I kind of eased it onto his shoulder and that sort of thing, and he was sooo good! I didn't put it on today because I didn't want to push it, but I probably will tomorrow!

After I finished working with him I put him and Bella out in the pasture and they decided to have a nice little run around the pasture. They are so cute! They are really young, one and two, so you'd think they'd run around all the time, but they really don't do it very often so it was great to see them having such a blast.

Rain, Rain and More Rain!

2007-06-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't had any new entiries lately, but that's because I haven't been able to work with Sheik in a while! It's been pouring down rain everyday and when it wasn't for a few hours it was waaay to muddy to try to work with him. But the rain stopped yesterday and everything is drying out nicely, so I'm going to resume our lessons today. We might work on pivots or trotting.

Standing Square

2007-05-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I worked with Sheik on Standing Square. As you can see from the picture he's doing very well with it. He's finally starting to get to the point where he does it himself. I stop him, turn around and he backs up into postion. I'm still having trouble getting him to move just one foot though. Like he'll have one back foot that is way off, and no matter what I do, I can't get him to move it just right!
Today I'm taking the day off because it's raining. =P
Sunday we are going to look for a leather show halter for Sheik, so one of these days I have to measure his head so I get one that fits him right!

Sorry it's been a while...

2007-05-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy working with Sheik I haven't had time to write about our training!
We worked on tying for a few days, until he had gotten it down, and he really did. He was so good about staying tied for a pretty long period of time. Then we moved on to lunging which....has been intersting. He just doesn't get it yet. I try to get him to move and he turns and lokos at me like, "What are you doing over there?" But eventually it will click I hope!
I've also been working on a ton on show stuff. Sheik is going to be my show horse! So I've been working a lot on getting him to stand square and to stand still and he's doing very well at it!

He Ties!

2007-05-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

When I went out to work with Sheik yesterday he was insulted that I didn't have a treat, and he kept nibbling at my fingers like "C'mon, you must have one." But he walked when I lead him, and after a few minutes I tied him. Really tied him. He was soooo good! He just stood there, I mean he moved around a little, but he didn't move further then the rope allowed, and he didn't try to pull back or anything. And he got lot's of attention. I kept him tied for about fifteen minutes.
I gave him lot's of pride and untied him, and he kept looking at me like "What did I do?" =P

Today I'll contiue to work on his tying, probably tying him for about 20 minutes. I'll probably kept working on just tying till about Friday, and then I will move onto lunging. I'm not sure about lunging...Sheik may be two year old, he's not very, he doesn't have very much engery. And he's not very active. But hopefully it'll go well. *Fingers Crossed*

Tying

2007-05-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

Today we finally worked on tying. I started out Sheik's lesson by walking him around and making sure he was listening and that he was quiet enough to tie. He was very good so I tied him and stood next to him and petted him. He just fine, standing there like I did it with him all the time! He enjoyed the extra attention.
By the end of ten minutes he was getting a little impatient, but he was so good.
Today I'll tie him for 15 minutes, and etc. I'll probably only have to work on this for about 6 more days or so, and then I'll be able to move on to lunging.

Rain, Rain, Rain and Mud

2007-05-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

It has rained for like two and a half weeks straight without relief! It rains at night, or it rains during the day. Everything has been wet and muddy! I had to put off lessons for that time because Sheik and Bella's pen was so muddy! None of us, especially Bella who hates anything but sunshine, would not have been very happy working in the mud, but today it finally looks like things have dried out, and there's no rain coming (At least I don't think so) so we are resuming our lessons today!

Birthdays!!!

2007-05-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

May 5th was Bella's birthday! She is offically a yearling!
And yesterday, May 10th was Sheik's birthday! He is offically a two year old now!

2007-05-02T08:07:00.000-07:00

I've been working some Sheik a little lately, going down and petting him during the afternoon and grooming him every night. I more or less believe in "Give and Take" horsemanship. If you take and take and take, the horse'll never give you anything back. So that was kind of my "Giving" lessons, and yesterday I began the "Taking" So to speak. I got this great book from the libary, "Starting Colts" and I spent the afternoon reading it. I had done pretty much everything in the book up until tying. There's no praticular reason I haven't done tying yet, I just hadn't. It's a little more time consuming and having a horse with Tango it's a little nerve wracking to think about Sheik possibly doing the same thing. But this book gave me a little more direction and I decided to start there.
I ended up, however, giving a "Refresher" lesson instead. He was pretty hyper (Yes he picked that day to act like a two year old! lol) and I lead him around a bit, then I thought maybe he had settled down but he hadn't so I decided to scrap that idea for the day and work on him listening better. He was testing me, plain and simple. It's been a while and I don't especially blame him. And I also couldn't let him get away with acting the way he is or I'd have a big problem. He lead pretty well, but mostly we worked on whoaing and staying whoa'ed for a while. And then when he'd move before I'd tell him I'd back him up to where he was staying before. I think I won and hopefully today I can get around to working on tying. =)

Shedding

2007-04-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

It's defintely that time of year ago. All of our horses are shedding. Tango is nearly shedded out already, he doesn't get much of a winter coat to begin with. He looks great.
Easter still has a lot of her winter coat, but I'm not surprised. I'm guessing she used to live in a place that had a late frost or something, because it takes her forever to shed out her coat.
Sheik is almost shedded out, except on his back. His neck and shoulders and chest look great though. I'm able to see the blue tint around his spots again.
Bella isn't really shedded all that much and I wish she would! She is sooo fuzzy and I'd like to see some of that come off! I brush her every night and still not much has come off. At least not enough to make a difference!

Shedding season also brings flys. Easter and Tango spend most of their afternoons in their barn, hiding from them, and then at night they go out and graze.
Sheik and Bella don't seem to mind as much, or maybe the flies don't bother them as much. Anyway I use bronco fly spray to help prevent the flies.

Halter

2007-04-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

My big goal right now is to be able to show Sheik in halter at the county fair in September. So that's what we worked on yesterday. We have a really good pen to pratice it in. I lead him around for a little while and then worked for a while on getting him to stand square. When I first got him he stood square most of the time but he's fallen out of that habit. I usually back him up and move him forward till he's standing square. He's pretty good at it and I think he's getting the idea. I think that he'll do good in halter this fall.
Then I finished his lesson with a good grooming like always. =)

I also worked with Bella. She was in a so-so mood. I lead her around some and then I worked on her backing up, then I groomed her. She's finally starting to shed out! And I picked up her feet.

2007-04-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

So after Bella bit me yesterday I realized she defintely needs the every day work again (I've been doing it every other day or so). So yesterday afternoon I went out and worked with her. She was an angel. I guess she had worked out all her anger at me yesterday! lol. Anyway when I went down she whickered at me about three times, and then she led for me perfectly. I groomed her (And she's finally shedding!) and picked up her feet. I also worked on her backing up a little bit too. She was very good and happy to do what I asked. Go figure. =P That's a horse for you.
I also worked with Sheiky, but only a little bit since I'm sure he was tired from his night out. Especially since I don't have any idea of how long as he was out. I lead him around a little bit then gave him a good grooming. He's mostly shedded out on his neck and chest. He looks really pretty without his winter coat, even though I think the fuzzy Sheiky was also cute. =)

My Morning : o

2007-04-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

So my Mom was feeding our goats and I was inside online and she came in and said "I need your help." so I went over to the door and said "Why?" And she said "Sheik's out!"
So I hurried outside and headed down the hill where the horses are. He'd gotten out into the hay meadow behind the pasture. This is the third time one of the horses has gotten out there. =) I'm guessing he was out for a while (possibly for all or half the night since none of us have been outside since about seven last night) because he wasn't really grazing anymore. He came right over to me and I haltered him and held onto him while my Mom opened the gate and I lead him in and feed him and Bella their breakfast. I found where Sheik got out, in the back pasture. He pulled the fence down. We shut off that pasture for right now until we can go fix the fence, which we will probably do this afternoon if we have time.
After we shut the gate I went over and was petting Sheik. Bella was eating out of the same bowl as him and all the sudden she reached over at bit me on the leg! I wasn't expecting it at all. What a brat that foal can be! It's an awful black and blue color and it still hurts!

Walking

2007-04-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took Bella and Sheik for a walk. We opened up the side gate and my Mom lead Bella out while I took Sheik of course. He had to have a quick refresher lesson of who is the boss before I lead him out. I walked him in circles and had him stop and back up a few times, then once he was listening I brought him out into the hay meadow. The idea had been to walk them around the hay meadow, but we ended up only getting a few steps away from the meadow, and we let them graze in the meadow for about a half an hour before bringing them back in. Bella didn't want to go in but she did finally and Sheik went right in. Then I gave Sheik a nice grooming, since he was covered in mud from the rain we've been having. =)
Kat

Annverisary!

2007-03-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my two year anniversary with Easter! I've had her for two years! Wow, I can't believe it's only been two years! It feels like I've owned her forever!
Today is also her 21st birthday.

Lending A Helping Hand

2007-03-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

www.blazesequinerescue.com
This is where I got my horse Easter from and where we got Tango from as well. My 4-H horse club has been raising money for them, after the owners came to speak at one of our meetings.
So, because my friend, Rendi, and I are the only ones old enough to do record books, and we need some horsey community service, and we felt like helping out, we went to work there for a afternoon today. We pulled up baleing twine from their pasture. That took nearly two hours, but with the help of one of the owners daughter it was a lot of fun. You have to get rid of the twine because horses can get a foot caught or trip on it.
Then we cleaned some stalls and helped feed some of the horses. Then we played with some of the horses.
We hope to go back and help again very soon!

2007-03-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

I try to work with Sheik everyday, working on his training and manners. I kind of slacked off while my niece was vistiting for a few weeks, mostly becasue it was to hard to do anything outside becasuse she had come with you! She's been back at home for a week now so I've really started back into my training with him.
I started out just sitting and petting and grooming him, because I wanted him to get used to the idea, and it didn't seem like a good idea just to jump in and expect him to do everything I asked. The next day I haltered him and lead him around some. The next time I did it again, mostly because I was short on time that day. Then yesterday we took another step. I haltered him and lead him around a little, then I brought out the saddle pad. I let him sniff it and then rubbed it on his nose and then his neck and finally I set it on his back. He spooked and it landed in the dirt. So I calmed him down (Humming just about any song helps with Sheiky.) so then I started over again, rubbing it on his nose and neck, then set it back down on his back and he was a little spooked so I hummed to him and scratched his favorite itchy spots, and when he was calm I walked him around with it on and then took it off and petted him a bunch.
The picture is off me, Sheik and Bella. My Mom was taking pictures of me leading Sheik for my 4-H record book and my spoiled horse with the big ego kept stopping in front of the camera and "posing." And then Bella shoved her way in and wouldn't move till we took a pic.

Tango

2007-03-09T12:21:00.000-08:00

Tango is my Mom's more then mine, but he's still one of our horses and I wanted to inculde him. He is a nine year old gelding. He's something like half quarter horse half tennesse walker. We got him from the same rescue we got Easter from. He didn't have the same story as her, he was given to the rescue because they couldn't afford and didn't want to keep him any longer. We bougt him nearly a year ago and he's a nice horse, but a little unpredicatable. He still thinks he's a stallion and he's a pain to bridle, but we are going to send him for more training and we hope that will make a difference. He defintely needs a refresher on his ground manners. =)

Bella

2007-03-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

Bella is a nine month old purebred registered paint filly. She was only four months when we bought her. We bought her with her mother, a nine year old paint mare, who was starving and in horrible, horrible shape. Bella looked pretty good consdering the condition of her mother. We named her mother Second Chance, but Chance only lived five days with us before she had kidney faliure and died. But even though Bella was orphaned she's done very well. She was competely wild when we got her and she has a come a long way. She used to bite and try to kick and she was just a grumpy little filly. With a lot of time, attention and grooming (The one thing she LOVES) she has become a sweet and adorable foal, even though she is on the small side.
Sheik is her half brother and they are the best of friends. THey share a pasture and Sheik kind of adopted her after Chance died. She used to follow him around just like a mother and it was really adorable.
Bella is more of my Mom's and my brother's, She's not really overly fond of me, but I like working with her. She's being taught to lead and have manners at the moment. And to stand for the farrier.
She still has her grumpy days but most of the time you can't even tell she was ever that not very sweet little filly. She has changed nintey nine percent and it's amazing what you can do with a little kindness and caring. =)

Easter

2007-03-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

This is Easter. She is almost 21. She is a purebred registered Quarter horse. Easter is her registered name and it's the most perfect name ever because not only did we buy her the day before Easter two years ago, she was born on Easter, 21 years ago! It's so ironic! I got her from a rescue nearly two years ago. She had been neglected, starved and then dumped by her old owners. When I went to the rescue to see Easter I looked at her and one other horse, a pretty chesnut gelding named Dan. I instantly fell in love with Easter, who was so sweet and stayed with us the whole time we were at the rescue. We brought her home a few days and later and started to get the weight back on her. She has a blown out knee, from an injury probably a long time ago. Because she was rescued we don't know how the injury happened but she still is great for some light riding. Easter was my first horse and she was is the most perfect first horse ever. She taught me sooo much! She taught me how to feed and how to groom and how to ride and how to get a horse to go! She's probably the safest horse a person could ever learn to ride on and she's the only horse I've ever ridden bareback. During summer I like to ride her out in our hay meadow while we pick blackberries from our bushes. The blackberries are great and Easter loves them too! I'll ride her a little and let her graze and both of us have a great time. These days she mostly spends her time grazing in our ten acre pasture, mostly because of the weather. I don't really ride in the winter, and it was a really hard winter. She lost some weight so we are working on it getting it back on her. This summer she had some problems with mites, and lost most of her mane and tail, but it's growing out beautifully and she's starting to look great again.

Sheik

2007-02-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is my boy! His name is Sheik and he is a registered paint gelding. He is going on two years old (in may). He is a sorrel over gelding and though you can't see it in that pic, he does have blue eyes. His overo pattern is called "Splashed white." Splashed white is the rarest of overo patterns.
I got him last August so I've had him for about six months or so now.
The first time I saw him was in May 2006. He had just turned a year old and he was pretty wild. When we bought him a few months later he was still on the wild side. He didn't get day to day attention, just whenever the previous felt like going out and doing something with him. When we first brought him home I started sitting on the fence and watching him. He'd trot around but after a few days he started coming over to the fence and letting me pet him or scratch his withers. Then I started grooming him. Grooming him was a good way to get him used to me touching his legs and hindquarters. After about a week and a half I started leading him and then we had him gelded in October. For two weeks before he was gelded we worked with loading him. I thought I was in for a very hard time because when he was brought home he had to be boxed into the trailer.
But within about 3 tries he went right into the trailer and we never had a problem!

Welcome!

2007-02-13T07:55:00.000-08:00

Hey and welcome to my blog! My name is Kat and I'll be talking about the things I like I guess! I like horses, music, photography and art mostly.
I do draw and I do a lot of photography and I enter a lot of contests and I usually do pretty well.
I also listen to music all the time! Country and rock mostly.
And Horses! I have two horses first of all. We own four but only two are actually mine. I'll talk about them in later posts....