Photos and a Rant....

So I've had some requests for photos. All I've got is these, they're from a day show turned practice show last week-end. This is Daisy, the "Please God, just get me my Regumate"mare.

She started pretty good.

OK, so then things got rotten and I had to two-hand her to straighten things out. Thus, practice run...

Zoey is loping calm and cool, her first time with the boss in the show pen.

This is Merry. This is her first time in the show pen too.

The little spaz bucked a bit, but we knew that was coming. She was pretty good all in all.

Peg needs to get the saddle bronc shot next time.

Bam! Clean lead change!

Of course I have to end with my yellow horse, because she's the coolest.

Ever.

Just have time for a short rant today.

I had a very cute three year old mustang named Shoni in for sixty days. She came in with the ability to one rein stop, and travel at a dead run.

That was all. No kidding.

She left with a nice walk, trot, and a slow steady lope.

She knew her leads, and would stop off your seat.

Her ground manners were all there. She quit trying to bite every time you tightened her cinch.

I never fed her a carrot.

She turned left and right. On the forehand, and on her haunches. Not quite a spin, but it was in there.

When you said whoa, she stopped. I didn't have to yank, or pull her around.

I truly think she was relieved to learn about cadence.

I offered her owner as many lessons as she could take during this time. The owner was timid, and knew she couldn't deal with the old Shoni. I liked them both, and wanted the situation to work, so I offered more lessons than I would normally.

She came once.

She walked around the arena and trotted maybe three steps.

She picked the filly up on my day off, so I couldn't give her any insight on what was done.

Two days later she took her on a twenty mile trail ride in the mountains.

Shoni was perfect.

The owner was so excited, she had to call and tell me all about it.

I almost snorted my burrito out my nose.

Sophie is one of the boss's foundation bred fillies. She is a pretty dark bay, with enough gold highlights to almost make a buckskin. She is correct and clean legged.

I broke her out and have had her in my line up for the past two years. She is four years old.

She had been hauled lightly, maybe five times. She had loped in a warm up pen at most twice.

She had never been shown.

Sophie can stop a little. She can change leads, and circle up pretty nice. Her spins are adequate. She is lively and easy to handle on a cow.

Sophie did not have enough stop or stamina for working cowhorse competition, so she was put up for sale.

A family with a solid horse background bought her for their twelve year old daughter. I got a chance to ride with her once. She is an extremely good rider, but she doesn't know a thing about how to ride one of our cowhorse trained horses.

The parents made plans to bring the new duo back for lessons.

I warned them that Sophie had rarely been off the place, out of her pasture, or away from her sisters.

I suggested they give her a while to acclimate to her new home before they started lessons.

They picked up Sophie on Friday night.

They took her to a 4H show on Saturday morning, and entered reining and horsemanship. Then they entered the jackpot reining at the end of the day.

Sophie won all her classes.

They were so excited they called to let me know.

I pretended I lost service, hung up, counted to a hundred and then called them back.

First of all, I am really proud of those fillies. It was a confirmation of my training approach. I reward them with rest and release after every try. They develop into hard working, gutsy animals.

In the situations they were thrust into I know they kept trying, waiting for some kind of release.

They held themselves together and did their best. It's all I ever ask.

Second, what the hell is the matter with these people?

This is a three year old and four year old respectively.

Would you enter your toddler in a 10 k run?

Would you enter your home schooled fifth grader in an out of state tap dancing competition?

Why did they spend all this money for training, or a quality animal, and then close their ears and do everything in their power to immediately blow these poor horses minds or legs....

AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!

I wonder how long before Sophie is running through the bit, and Shoni bolts up the trail.

OK, that's my rant.

If you want photos of the bambinos, we have to talk Peg into coming and taking some pictures. I usually work alone. Peg comes over to play sometimes though.