It's been a really wet couple of weeks at the barn. The challenges of having the horses in stalls with half of the stall out of the shed have been interesting to deal with. There have been a few days nice enough to work in spread through. Rowdy is riding off, trotting, loping, and riding the trail with Seven and by himself. Lil has gone home, our part in his story done, although he is welcome back anytime for a refresher. Billy and Sticks are working the trail and getting miles on, Sticks is working some of the more advanced rein work, since he was already started. Sugar is in her baby steps. We've got her working decently bareback, but she is still pretty wide-eyed when you add a saddle to the equation, so we are doing foundation work there until she finds out that having a rider in the saddle isn't a big deal. Seven's leg is continuing to heal, and it has been nice to have her back for help working some of these colts. We even put a little work in on Catori, Brittany's horse, who seems to have some pretty decent manners under all the pushy hard headedness. She just needs to know you are the leader first. And she challenges it fairly regularly. The joys of working a boss mare... Kind of funny to have three of them in the barn right now. They make nice horses once you establish your ranking.
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It's been a really great couple of days at the Tumbleweed. We are so grateful for the rain. The horses are really coming along, especially this week. Lil goes home this weekend, we are going to miss him, he's really been a sweetheart. Going to post some pics and videos of him loping. Rowdy, Sticks, Billy, and Lil are all working the arena and trail both, calmly and dependable. Sugar is starting to understand that she will enjoy it more if she listens instead of doing things her way. We've got some saddle racks built in and we've made a lot of headway on getting the place cleaned up! Phil took a lesson on Seven and Abby has been out twice this week for lessons. It's amazing how much progress she's made since her first lesson. I'm so sorry I haven't been better about keeping up with posting. Headed to class now but had a GREAT morning with Rowdy and Seven on the trail. He's moving out great, picking up the walk/trot/stop transitions, walking across the grass without a fuss 'most' of the time. He would really like to stop and eat but he's getting over it. Not bad for the lazy, sticky guy he has been the past couple of weeks. Class til 1:00 then back out to work. It's been a busy first week at the new location. We are really enjoying the convenience of it, but there are still a few things to be worked on, so in addition to working the horses, we are still working maintenance on the property as well. Abby got a lesson yesterday, and is doing very well at her walk and trot and at one point Seven broke into a few strides of lope and she handled it like a champ. Yay for Abby's confidence and for Seven's leg feeling well enough to lope! Lil will go home on the 12th, we will be sad to see him go. He's a sweet little guy. Billy had to backtrack yesterday but by the time we were done working him in the round pen to remind him of the lesson he forgot, he's back on track. Rowdy is moving out nicely and even rode with another horse in the arena with him! I was a little worried about his aggressiveness towards other horses and being ridden together but he did alright. Sugar is doing pony rides, and coming along. She had been broke to ride, but either forgot a lot of stuff while not using it, or was taught the crash course. We will get her done right, all the while desensitizing her to all the things little girls make their ponies suffer through. Sticks is moving out very nicely, learning that it is not ok to eat while working and that he doesn't have to goose out from under people with a little leg pressure. I rode him during Abby's lesson, and Luc and Ashley rode him in the arena with Rowdy, and he did great. He's a really nice little horse. Some of you may remember Brittany, she's boarding her horses at the barn also. For those of you that will be in town this weekend, go check out the Cowboy Symposium at the Civic Center. Check out cowboy.org for a full lineup of the events.
With school starting not only for me, but also my children, and football kicking off (pun intended), I am handing the bulk of the work over to Luc and Ashley's capable care. I will still be around checking in and available if they need a hand or input, but more and more they are able to carry on the training duties on their own. Due to this and school also, I likely will not be updating daily as I was before. I know some of you are probably thankful that I am not blowing your newsfeeds up, and some of you may wish you were kept a little more in the loop of what is going on in your horse's schooling. Rest assured, they are continuing to be worked, and I will post pictures as I am able, and as always you are free to call to check in or come by and see your horse. To that end, we signed our lease on the new property and expect to be moving the horses this weekend. We are excited for the possibilities this move brings for the business. Our new location is 5710 North FM 2528. FM 2528 is Frankford heading north towards Abernathy. The horse pens are situated behind the main house, where Luc will be renting (fingers crossed we can find one more roommate), so one of our staff will be on hand at nearly all times. There are gates on either side of the house, and we intend to keep them locked most of the time for safety and security, so if you are coming to visit your horse, you might give us a heads up so we know when to have the gates open for you. The property has a big circle drive for trailers, individual stalls with shelter, a wash bay, an arena, and plenty of room to ride. We've been working on a riding trail out in the back pasture that is coming along spectacularly. A huge thank you to Phil Hudgeons for the use of his tractor and trimmer along with all his assistance, to David Uptain for his assistance, and his brainstorming, and to Trayle Shroyer at T-Birds Feed in Wolfforth for giving us a great deal on our square bales to help us keep our costs low enough that we can afford the move without changing our rates at this time. Y'all go see him, tell him we sent you.
Les came out this week and trimmed Sticks, Seven, and Rowdy, as well as floating Sugar's teeth and filing her canine teeth down. Canines are small teeth on the bottom jaw that sit in the general area where the bit lies. When bits bang these teeth or bump them, it can be very painful, and can create many behavioral issues as well as making your horse uncomfortable. Wolf teeth are teeth on the top row, and they can pose similar problems, but they are structured a bit differently so the method of fixing the problem is a little different. The molars in the back of a horse's mouth can wear unevenly creating ridges and sharp edges. These can cause horses to loose a lot of feed as they eat, not grind up roughage enough to digest it properly, and cut their tongues and cheeks. Good dental care is as important as hoof care. Sticks, Lil, and Rowdy are riding in the arena, working patterns, stops, backups, and turns. Billy worked in the arena Tuesday without a leader for the first time and was a bit sticky but till progressing right along. Ashley rode Sugar and the general consensus seems to be that the saddle pinches the chubby gal when you mount from the ground. Ashley has been using a chair to mount her until we get her into better shape, and says she is doing great. Y'all keep a lookout, when we get everything ready to go at the new place we hope to have an open house of sorts. There's still a bit of cleanup to be done since the horse pens and arena had not been used in some time, but as we get closer to a date, I will let you know. Have a great and SAFE Labor Day weekend! Sure am enjoying this fella! Sticks is a pretty nice colt! A bit high strung but he sure is smart. I have pictures from Abby's lesson also but they are on Luc's phone so I will probably get them posted tomorrow. Tomorrow we are meeting to sign the lease on the new facility!! Exciting things for the Tumbleweed. I did not edit these this time before loading them but still they are sideways and some have random lines in them.....sorry!! Guess I need to learn more to get it right, but here's pictures from today. Some of the fellas weren't a big fan of the water but they all came around to it. Billy is a bit wired about it still but we will keep working it. We knew he would be a bit iffy about it since he's so uncomfortable with sprays and stuff. We'll get him there. There is a lot to be said for a regular bathing routine and how it helps desensitize a horse as well as get them used to people messing around all over them. Not to mention that once they get accustomed to it, it is an enjoyable experience that helps reinforce their interest in being around their persons. It's good for a horse to like his job. When you have to get ugly, get there, get it done and over with, and get back to pleasant asap, nagging is counterproductive. And take every opportunity to be around your horse without making it a huge effort on his part every time. I know a lot of people that regard their horses as tools, a means to get their job done, and there is nothing wrong with that except that your job and his job will be much more easier when he is a willing partner, interested in what you want from him. The last pic is Rowdy after promptly rolling in the sand after his bath. I thought it was funny the way it caked to his face. Ok, apparently I need to stop editing pictures on my phone before loading them, it is making them load funny. Sorry about the sideways ones, still figuring out the website functions and can't get them upright. Rowdy had a GREAAAT morning with Luc, working the pattern we set up for Abby to use on her lesson. We pulled Sugar up but about the time we were saddling her, Abby came in so we did Abby's lesson working circles at walk and trot. She's doing so great. You can tell from the pictures I am jogging alongside (a little ouch still) but mainly just because Abby feels more comfortable that way. I don't have to jog along anymore to help her cue Seven to change direction or speed, as she gets stronger in her legs and more clear in her cue. Took Abby back to Lubbock and came back out to give Sugar a bath. Back at it tomorrow. We had a superb day at the Tumbleweed! Luc and I worked and rode Rowdy and he had the best day he's had in quite a while. Luc rode Billy and Sticks, both of whom did spectacular as well. Lil was having a bit of a jumpy day so just did a little refresher ground work with him, but I think he'll be ready to ride off again tomorrow. Ashley brought in an actual ROUND pen. It was amazing! Tomorrow I am doing PR stuff with the Equestrian Team at the new Stripes location on North Loop 289 and University, come say hi!! So Luc and Ashley will be manning the fort again. Trying to upload video of Luc working circles with Billy. Big horse is really something. He doesn't get in too big of a hurry but he is strong and steady.
Luc rode Rowdy, Lil, and Billy. We worked Sugar on the ground, and started Sticks up. Good day all in all. Pictures of Sticks. Isn't he handsome?!! Pay no attention to my goofy posture, a bit sore today. |
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