Gittin Broke

I haven't updated Lou's progress in a couple weeks. Not because anything was wrong or because I haven't been working her. Quite the contrary as a matter of fact. I have been spending a lot of time riding her out and down the road. She seems to enjoy this, she steps out nice and keeps her head down and relaxed. The only time there was an issue at all was when I rode her to one of the neighbors houses and some plastic was blowing around. She was hesitant to walk past it but eventually did without any kind of fight at all. On our trips to the rescue she stands tied well at the trailer and is a gem to ride. She doesn't hold her self up as well in the right lead, and tries fall into the circle. If I hold her, she doesn't fight it, so I anticipate her to eventually just start bending and keeping her shoulder and rib cage up. Although I have only stopped in the middle of the arena a couple of times, she has been anticipating that and asking every time we cross the middle if we can stop. I have been stopping her in other places in the arena and she still thinks that stopping in the center is the best idea, this doesn't worry me tho. I have been playing around with a bosal with her. She really likes it. She packs her head so good and comes off the very slightest thought while wearing it. I don't have one that is quite small enough to fit her properly so I don't want to work her hard in one. I don't want to have it bounce up and down on her nose. So long and short of it is that she is just cruising right along and ready to go to work. I have been meeting some folks with some cattle and I will start working cows a little. I am also going to start working the flag with her some. Thanks and God Bless, BW

Lovin Every Minute

More than likely this will be a short blog. Only because she is doing so well. There are very little issues that I feel like I need to work through now and she catches on so well to anything I try to teach her. With the longer days and the warmer weather I have been taking her on longer rides. She steps out well and doesn't spook at too much. I have been dragging a board around some, she doesn't mind it too much at all but she doesn't like anything coming across her rump not even my hand. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I failed to catch that early on in training. She is starting to accept my hand back there, when she knows it is coming. When it surprises her she gets a little nervous, but I am not worried she has grown to accept things so well she will catch on to this also. I wish I had a riding job, she is ready to go, and she would start making some huge changes with some long hours. She is so much fun to work with.

Quite a gal

Another great week on Lou. I am starting to see significant changes in her. She is standing to be saddled very nice now and stands calmly tied for as long as she needs to. This week was mostly riding out, and working with her on swinging my rope. After warming her up and making sure all my critical parts were working I side passed up to the side of the pen and grabbed my rope. She was ok with the rope being there but when I tried to pet her with it she shied pretty good. I simply dropped the rope and got of and started petting her with it from the ground, from there I tossed it out a few times, coiled it up, and swung it. In no time flat I was back on her petting her with the rope. I went through all these steps each time I worked her (although they were probably not necessary). She now stands and lets me swing the rope, and walks around calmly while I swing it. I wouldn't put her into team roping training yet, but that is one more feather in her cap. As long as I am rhythmic with the swing she is cool with it. (I try my best to be rhythmic in everything that I do with all of the horses.) Riding out is becoming a shere joy on her. She is getting very confident with herself, and she is figuring out opening and closing gates pretty good. The more confidence she gets there is less and less to report on because she just steps into whatever little job I imagine for her. I put one of my horses in the pen with her and she has quit pacing and is finally putting on some weight and I love that. Seeing good in shape horses gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I look at my barn. Thanks and God Bless, BW

Setteling in nicely

I didn't write an update last week, for no reason in particular except that everything is going great with Lou. Our routine lately has consisted of two or three days a week being hauled to the arena and working transitions and circles there. In addition to being worked, she is also gaining experience getting off the place, being trailered, and standing at the trailer. All of which she is becoming a pro at. She is now standing to be saddled rather nicely and that makes me feel good. The rest of the time is spent here at the place riding out for an hour or more. During our rides I make it a point to work on several things as well as just let her travel relaxed, such as opening and closing gates, lateral movement, steering around brush, etc. She knows the gate well now and stands to hook and unhook the chain and will open it both, pulling it towards her and pushing it away. We are very far from perfect on this but it is not about opening the gate it is about putting together all the pieces to open it, and we have that. She will stand by the gate and that is when she starts playing with the bit in her mouth. She stands nice but she is ready to get going. When we are traveling she travels relaxed for the most part. She is very aware of things and every so often she will trot past something that makes her nervous. I simply slow her down and return past the object. Generally the second time by she walks nervously and shying past it and on the third she is relaxed. I have total faith in her and if I had a riding job and some good miles to put on her I feel that we would be just fine as long as I kept her doing something because I think that is really whats, to be doing something. I try to always have something to try to teach her or show her and she tries very hard to figure it out. Her circles are becoming very light and solid and her transitions are about as good as they could be without a walking lope departure and I wont worry about that for quite some time. In loping she carries her head a little higher than my preference is but she is relaxed and smooth and I feel that is the most important thing at this point, where she naturally carries her head doesn't bother me too much. As good as she is doing I still see the tenacity that makes her heir to the champions, and I like it. She still paces in her pen and I wish she wouldn't but as more horses arrive I will put one of my horses in with her and if I had I dime to bet I would say that she would stop. All is great I am really getting along with this mare. Thank you and God Bless.

Out and about

Another wonderful week on Lou. This week I raised the bar for her just slightly. After a great beginning here at home I decided she might be ready to travel. The very next day I hauled her and Electra to "Lasting Partnerships Training Facility" (front range equine rescue) to do some arena work. After standing at the trailer for a few hours while I was working some horses at the rescue she let me saddle her standing right there at the trailer. She still does move around some but she is doing a lot better about that, and I simply am not making a deal out of it any more. If she seems like she is getting worse about it I will start work on that part again. However, the way she is right now, I have seen broke horses that don't stand to be saddled as well as she does. I took her right to the arena after tacking up and lunged her around a couple times in order to let her see the arena, (relaxed). I know that she had been ridden out and in arenas before, but always being in a new place could make a young horse nervous and I have backed way up for her before progressing forward. I got right on and went to work. She did great! I was mostly working on transitions and being soft in the bit, her transitions were perfect going up, and coming down I only had to take a light feel. Not to bad for a hot shot horse that is bred to go forward fast. She isn't quite as soft laterally as I would like her to be with the bit, but she is catching on fast. She is showing a natural want, to flex vertically which is a great thing. However, I am not going to work at this for quite some time yet, but it is good to know that when I need it, it is waiting on the serf ice to be developed. After a couple sessions at the arena I feel very confident in her loping and trotting circles and straight lines. She still needs to be held into both, but there is no resistance and as long as she is doing something she is very willing to learn and relax. At home the rest of the week I just rode her out around the place. However more than our little trips around the pasture I took her to get her some experience and exposure. I must say that although she is responsive and well mannered she is on full alert and shies away from objects(mail boxes, ranch signs, jack rabbits wearing slickers holding umbrellas, usual stuff). I just go with her and don't make much of a fuss about it. I do take her back past things that she really hates but for the most part I let her sort things out on her own. She is also learning to work the gate, she understands to come off the pressure and she is no longer scared of the gate coming toward her but standing still by the gate is (or at all when we are out) is some what of a big deal for her. Once again I don't take this to heart too much, she is simply nervous and feels like she needs to move her feet to feel secure. So, all in all, it was another great week. I look forward to next week being full of more progress and even longer rides with just her and I. I feel that she is ready for some good long rides and some wet saddle pads. Thank you and God Bless, BW

learning and enjoying

This week thus far has been one for the books for Lou and I. I am early with my blog this week because I don't know when I am going to have a chance to write over the weekend. Hopefully I have 2 more days to work if the weather holds out, so far it has. This week, I stayed with the throw the saddle on and off repeatedly until she stands still. Always her standing still was the outcome. The first day this week she repeated the not wanting to transition to a lope, this time I didn't have any help around to help her through it, I just stayed steady with my asking, she eventually lightly crow hopped off into a lead, and loped away. She has transitioned very easily every time since, and what a mover! She is however having a little trouble picking up her left lead, not bad though she just seems to be a little awkward in it, but that doesn't worry me. The most exciting part for me is that after I transition her both directions up and down I open the gate and ride her around in the pasture, working on bending and turning around all the brush out in front of the house. She seems to be very confident and trusts me when I ask her, she isn't fighting anything at all, our little rides out get longer and longer each time. In our last session I went about saddling a little differently. Although she would be moving around I would throw the saddle on her that is when she would stop and relax. So I thought if I held the saddle like I was going to throw it on and went with her as she moved and set it down when she stopped, that it might work. It did! It didn't take long at all for her to find out that stopping her movement released the pressure. Soon she was standing still on a loose lead rope while I threw the saddle on and off a few times. Love the progress. Look forward to writing about more advances and progress next week. Thank you and God Bless, BW

First Update

After being here a week, I feel Lou lou (Lou) is starting to settle in rather well. She is being very picky about the hay that she eats but she is cleaning up most of it. That was the biggest sign that I was looking for, as she wasn't eating much at all when she first arrived. She spent most of her time pacing around her pen and stall. Today I got her out and took her to the round pen for the first time since I have had her. Since she had been saddled and ridden before she arrived, I approached these tasks rather confidently. However Johnny told me that she was a little prone to buck and that she became nervous while being saddled. After moving her around some I started to put the saddle on. She was nervous and started walking around some. I didn't try to make her stand still but just kept working throwing the saddle up and holding it on when she would stop I would pull the saddle down. After repeating this step several times, she finally stood still to be saddled. I hope this becomes the trend but I will keep working at this until she stands relaxed. It seemed to me that as she started relaxing she was really wanting to be with me. I love the fact that she was looking to me for comfort. After moving her some with the saddle, I started the getting on process. She stood still for most of this, however she seemed very tense so I spent a lot of time crawling around in the saddle and getting down, then moving her feet, before repeating. Soon enough she stood relaxed. Once in the saddle and comfortable she walked out very relaxed and trotted well too. However as I was encouraging her to lope, she froze up and started to buck some. She was very easy to convince not to, however, after that it was difficult for me to get her to free up and move. Fortunately I was able to get Dad to help me. He came to the middle of the round pen and moved toward her, instantly she relaxed and freed up. Soon after that we were loping nice relaxed circles that I was asking her to do and Dad just stood there. She is showing me potential to be supper light in the reins and the saddle, my goal is to keep her that way. All in all it was a great first day with a lot of successes for both the horse and my self! I am looking forward to getting to know this filly more and continue to gain her confidence in me. I hope to report more good news next week. Thanks and God Bless.