All Around Horses

Thanks & Wedding Update

2012-01-23T16:49:00.001-06:00

My "Painted Performer" and I at the MN State Horse Show 2011

I have been meaning to write this post for quite some time. I just want to say thank you to all my loyal followers. I am really astonished of the impact this website has made and the small footprint I have made on the internet!

I remember starting this blog and being quite excited about it because it gave me a larger voice to reach people across the world (yes literally across the world). That surprised me, I expected my audience to all be from the United States, but it is not, and that is great.

Continue reading to get the wedding update...

Honestly the reason I started this blog was because I wanted to help people. I wanted to help people by sharing my life experiences. I did not grow up with a lot of money like many kids did and it was hard at times, but it really taught me a lot. Instead of having everyone do things for me I did things for myself and I learned to train show horses myself since I could not afford to have someone train them for me. By the way I have won multiple first place state awards in training classes now. The other aspect I wanted to share, but have not done as much of is sewing or making things for you and your horses. I have made a number of things and even patterns for some of them, whether it be clothes, horse slinkies, a pedestal or cavalletti. I however have ended up focusing on the horse training aspect, for good or bad.

The following on this blog has been amazing, or at least amazing by my standards. It is pretty average for my blog to get 400-600 page views a week according to my stats provider. However but in the last week of October 2011 All Around Horses blog got 4,542 "hits", and 1,662 of those were new visitors. That was very exciting to see!

My twitter and facebook pages are growing too. All Around Horses blog on facebook has 110 likes! Also, All Around Horses on twitter has 507 followers and growing as well. The purpose of facebook and twitter is to allow an alternative way for people to follow All Around Horses. If you are not already connected that way, feel free to click on the links and check them out!

Now a little update on me :)
Now on to my personal life. Something I do not share too much on here, but I will give you guys a sneak peek :). I am graduating from college with a B.A. in Economics with a Business Emphasis with a GPA of 3.98 on a 4.0 scale this spring. I do not yet have a job, but am hoping to stay close to home and keep my horses too. Then just a little over a month after graduation I am getting married!

I have nearly everything ready to go for my wedding. We are just in the process of interviewing some more photographers and DJs. I am pretty excited about my wedding plans. I am on a pretty tight budget so doing everything myself that I can, including designing my wedding invitations and RSVP cards which was a lot of fun! I love the design I went with.


Our mode of transportation from the wedding ceremony :)!

The Quick Facts of the Wedding:
*My colors are red and white/silver
*My flowers are roses (red bouquet for me and white for my bridesmaids)
*My mode of transportation from the ceremony is horse and buggy :) (We are using Kai, learn more about her and my other horses under the My Horses page)

Help Me Win!!!
Also, as you saw in my last post, please help me with the photography package by Samantha Meyer Photography. You can do so by retweeting this status on twitter and hitting "like" on this picture on facebook. Do both if you can :). There are only a few days left of the contest (ends Jan 31st). Thanks for the support!

So due to the busy nature of my schedule of the next six months, I will not be posting much. However, I will do my best and if everyone wants to see, I can probably post some wedding pictures after the wedding. Especially those that are horse related!

~ Amber

Wedding Photography Giveaway

2012-01-17T13:59:00.001-06:00

Samantha Meyer Photography is doing a giveaway for an engagement and a wedding session. And I entered! You can help me out by liking my photo on her facebook wall!!!

I know this is a little off topic, but as many of you know I am getting married this summer and am in full fledge wedding planning craziness and I would love to win this package :).

You can also retweet my tweet on twitter to help me out at: http://twitter.com/allaroundhorses.

While you're on facebook also check out Samantha's great work, maybe you will want to hire her for your next event.

To learn more about the contest check out: http://www.smpblog.com/?p=2207.

Thanks to everyone who adds a vote for me!!!

~Amber

AQHA World Show

2011-11-07T20:35:00.000-06:00

I received my AQHA World Show program book in the mail today. Exciting as it is going on November 5th - 19th in Oklahoma City.

View results here.

How to Make Lotion Bars

2011-10-26T10:05:00.000-05:00

Its that time of year again, fall is here and the dry air starts to take a toll on our skin, making it feel dry and cracked.

It is so hard to find a good quality lotion for my hands in the winter time, one that actually makes them feel good. I figured if I can make lip balm, I can probably make this too right?

All you need is the ingredients, a mold of some sort and a pan to melt the ingredients in!

Cocoa Butter Hand Cream
4 tbsp beeswax
4 tbsp Cocoa Butter
4 tbsp Almond Oil

Melt beeswax and cocoa butter together, leave on low heat as you add the almond oil. Once mixed together uniformly remove from heat and poor into a mold or in a low profile jar.

For information on where I get some of my ingredients check out my post on making lip balm.

Here the lotion bars are in the mold. I used a silicon shell shaped mold. Don't worry about spilling a little bit like I did, it hardens and cleans up nicely.

And the finished product!

Enjoy!

Horseville

2011-10-09T21:33:00.001-05:00

Horseville has an affiliate program which allows you to earn money if you put a link on your website, you get $5 for sign up, $0.03 for every click and 15% of how much money they spend on Horseville if they choose to buy an ad.

I though this was interesting and decided to add it to my blog because I know a bunch of you guys that read this have blogs and websites of your own and making money can be a good thing, even when it is just a little bit.

I just signed up to be an affiliate member, we'll see how this goes.

Thinking about becoming an affiliate too? Go HERE for more information. (If I refer you, I will get a 10% commission off of your commissions too, kind of a nice deal).

Watch American Quarter Horse Congress Live 2011!

2011-10-07T10:35:00.002-05:00

The show will be going on from October 7-30th 2011.

Watch Live

Sorry the Quarter Horse Congress is over.

Thanks to Envision and Live Stream for providing the free broadcast!

You can view results of the show here.

Other news from the show can be seen on the OQHA Site.

2011 American QH Congress coming up soon!

2011-09-26T17:59:00.000-05:00

The American Quarter Horse Congress is coming up really soon starting on October 7th of 2011.

The show is held at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio.

This is the Show's 45th year and is the largest single breed show in the World.

I will try and remember to put up the live feed if available this year, which I am sure it will be. I don't know about you guys, but I am excited to watch some of the show :)!

Now available to watch here!

Equitation Tidbit

2011-09-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

For those of us with bumpy trotin' horses, I find really flexing in the ankle and dropping weight down in my heels down to help. This both really helps the posting trot to be more deep and smooth, along with making the sitting trot, well look more like you actually are sitting :).

I know it is very easy to get in the bad habit of allowing your heels to slide up, but not only does it look nicer for an equitation class, but it does make you sit better.

I find the easiest way for me to think about this is to really drop my weight down and through my legs and feet, which lowers my center of balance and makes my riding more 'solid' or less bouncy.

So there was my equitation tidbit of the day, quick and simple, just something I have really been noticing in my own riding lately.

2011 AQHA ADEQUAN SELECT WORLDS - Watch Live!

2011-08-31T12:46:00.001-05:00

Live Link: http://americashorse.tv/live-events/select-world-ANC.html

Schedule: http://www.aqha.com/en/Showing/Select-World/Schedule.aspx

Coverage will continue through Sept 3rd.

How to make a Lunge Line or Driving Lines

2011-08-26T11:54:00.000-05:00

I have never been a fan of conventional lungelines or driving lines, so I decided to make my own. I personally like the feel of rope in my hands, something I can grip and control.

I make lines that I use universally for either lunging or ground driving. I make them 25 feet because anything longer for ground driving just ends up a tangled mess and anything shorter for lunging is too short because of stress on the horse's joints.

Materials Needed - per a lunge line (need two of each to make driving lines)

Rope Clamp
Snap, I use a 1/2" one with a 5/8"-1" openining
25' of 5/8" rope (same size as for leadropes)

To make it, cut your rope to length and melt the ends. Then slide your snap on the end and clamp the rope clamp on. You will need a pliers or something to tighten the rope clap, but it should go on pretty easy. Just make sure it is really tight so that if the horse was to put tension on the rop it is sturdy and will not come undone.

As you can see in the photo, I put one knot on the end of the rope, the reason I do this is so that when I am ground driving or lunging, I can change the placement of my hands on the rope without accidentially slipping right through, the knot is a warning that I am at the end of the rope.

A note about the materials:
I buy my rope at Fleet Farm in the 100' bundles which is quite inexpensive. Last I checked that was less than $30, and if you are like me, that is all you will ever need. That makes 4 lunge lines!
You can buy the rope clamp and snap at any hardware store or probably at fleetfarm too, I bought mine at TSC. They are fairly inexpensive, the clamp should be less than $1 and the snap less than $2.

Horse Crazy

2011-08-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

Zorro & I

I am very passionate about horses, or what some people may call horse crazy. Very horse crazy, ok, as I have gotten older it has milded off just a little, as in high school, I very highly prized my grades, which paid off when I graduated valedictorian! Then going off to college limited my time even more, although I chose a college only 45 min from home for a reason. I love my horses, they were and still are my pride and joy.

The hours I have spent with them are literally, I mean literally countless. In my life I have not done much of horse swapping, I have owned a total of 13 horses and currently have 6 of them and 2 of those thirteen died with me. No wonder I was able to train one of them to ride bridleless :). I never could train my Arabain mare, my first horse, who is now 28 to ride bridleless though, she was just too stubborn or something.


Tiazz and I back in the 4-H days

I used to read everything parelli I could and begged and begged for one of their training sets (now I thank my parents that they never gave in), I am not a huge fan of parelli training anymore. Some of it is good, but some of it seems a little too gimmicky to me now. I have watched John Lions videos we rented from the library and read a bunch of his articles online. I also read all the articles on www.classicaldressage.net, two or three times over. That is some awesome information by the way, that is what I read when I was really starving to understand more about how horses move and proper movement and collection and I gained a lot of understanding because of classical dressage. I have read up a ton on teaching horses to do trick training and work at liberty (Nugit and Buttercup, two minis I once had, used to be able to do a pretty cute show for me in the round pen, it is awesome how you can teach horses to work like that). I also trained Zorro to do everything in showmanship when he was 2, you know, stop, backup, pivot, set up and trot with me, completely without a halter...yup completely without a halter!

I also own 3 big and a few other miscellaneous smaller breed/tack equipment/training books and have read them cover to cover at least once. I used to know horse breeds so well because of that, its also how I began to achieve my equine vocabulary, although terms used in them and terms used here in the Midwest vary a little.

Jazz

I did quite a bit with 4-H, started when I was 11, right after I got my first horse. Just a quick note, 4-H horse can be an amazing experience and if you are a parent, I would recommend looking into this for your kids, or if you are a kid, tell your parents about it. My first year I only showed Western, before the second year I found a actually decent quality brand new English Saddle on eBay for $100 with shipping, came with stirrups and everything too. And I have been riding English ever since, bought two more English saddles since then and have a little more "show" quality one now. When I was 13, I got my first foal...free...yeah free, I named him Zorro. He changed my life forever. I have trained him completely, like hardly anyone else has even ever rode him. He is my baby, really is my baby, especially since I do not yet have any children...I still need some work on the getting married part before that happens. Anyways, I enrolled him in the training program through 4-H, which earned me my first trips to our State 4-H horse show, a literally life changing experience for me, and I placed first with him every time I took him there (three times), really made me feel special, like I was really something, the judges recognized my pure joy of training and love of my horse and time spent with him.

Kai & Romeo

Oh and while I was training Zorro I also trained another quarter horse Chaps and bought a few more babies (Kai now 4 and Romeo now 2), and bought a two year old Jazz (she is now 4), and we still have all of those horses.
You know what else I totally forgot about, the miniature horses. I trained two miniature horses to drive, Dakota and Nugit, eventually sold both of them though. We had one miniature horse baby out of Dakota, but we sold him as a weanling. There was also Buttercup, I started her training for driving, but didn't completely finish her.

my chapstick

I have made a number of things over the years, everything from lotion bars to saddle pad to tail bags. I did not grow up in a "rich" household. I had to work hard for everything I have and really had to prove this was something I would stay with before my parents would further invest in my hobby. The first few years we had horses, we didn't even have a horse trailer and a neighbor would trailer Tiazz for us to the 4-H events. Then after about 3 years, we finally bought a stock trailer. I had shown horses for 4 years before I got a saddle with silver on it, actually a really nice used show saddle. Then after 6 or 7 years, we bought a horse trailer, a nice one, I was so, so happy!

my cameo saddle pad

Anyways, I got a little off topic in that last paragraph. I found a tutorial on how to make tail bags on the internet and tried it and after making a number of them, decided to do a tutorial of my own, with my own personal experiences. I made a pattern for a horse neck slinky for horse shows, then made one for around $5, yeah, sale fabric :). It turned out awesome. Then I did some measuring and mathematical adjustments and also made a pattern for a miniature horse neck slinky for Nugit. I made a pattern for a horse sized fully body slinky, but have never actually made one, maybe someday. I also made a pattern and made a miniature horse sized sheet, also for Nugit. I have made show horse shirts for western, usually ones with a little bit of bling :). Saves a lot of money. I made a pattern for a fly mask, but never actually made the fly mask. I have also made patterns on multiple different appliques for western shirts that I will maybe someday get to use. I made an English Saddle Pad and a few other random things like that. Another pattern I made was for a number view English saddle pad, but then I bought one before I made it, so it too has stayed at pattern stage. I like sewing when I have spare time...which doesn't happen to often anymore.

I have always wanted to share more of the patterns I have made, but it is kind of difficult to do and yeah. The main one I have done on here is tail bags, which is pretty simple.

With rope, I have also made rope halters (one for every major stage of growth from baby to full grown) and lunge lines.

Really the reason I started this website is because of my passion for horses and desire to share my knowledge with others. I really wanted to make an impact on others because I know everything I have read and how it has helped me out.

I was going through some of my stuff from my younger days, and that is kind of what spurred me to write this. I really doubt many people will read this article all the way to the end, but that is ok, part of why I wrote this is maybe just for myself, so I can remember everything, because I had somewhat forgotten about everything I have really done in life, and this is just the horsey related part of my life. I have never, at least to this point in my life had a super expensive horse, but I think all of my horses are good horses, all have basic good confirmation and personalities and when it all comes down to it, I think that is what is most important. Although, I would still love to someday be able to show with the big guys, in the big quarter horse shows, but not sure if it will ever happen. I need all that money first, need that star horse, but it is ok, I am content and will do my best to stay that way. I love the horses I have now, and have raised all but one of them since they were very young and trained them, it really does make me proud.

Luke & I on my horses

This post is getting a little long, but that is ok. After reading all this, if you have, you may be surprised what I am actually currently doing with my life, I have one year left to get my BA in Economics with a Business Emphasis. I am well kind of what they call "smart", but unfortunately have got one A- in college, making my cumulative GPA just short of a 4.0 with a 3.98, oh well, I think it was good for me. I also have a scholarship in which I am doing research on agricultural economics with. It is fun, I have some models and working on a lit review and will hopefully be good enough to submit for publication this fall or next spring. Horses will stay a hobby for me though. I work part time as a bank teller while I am in school, I really enjoy my job, lots of fun and work with awesome people. It is my first job off of our farm and a good introduction to the work world. And I have an amazing family, probably one of the most amazing families in the world :). They support me so much. This web design and the little bit of graphic design and photography I do are all just hobbies that I have coming right after my horse hobby, which will probably always be at the top of my list. I do have an amazing man in my life as well, a good respectful Christian man, and we have a pure relationship, saving sex and living together until after we are married, not the easiest feat in today's world but very much so worth it.

Well, now you know all about my life, or at least the horsey side of it, hope you enjoyed and have a great day! Oh and don't be afraid to look around on my blog, maybe a good place to start would be to look at the articles, I actually have quite a few good articles on here.

Be a Better Rider Tip of the Day: Look Ahead

2011-07-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Remember to look up and in the direction you are going. This is such an easy thing to forget, especially when training for headsets and working with young horses.

Looking in the direction you are headed is more than just good horsemanship and equitation, it cues your horse. When you look in the direction you are going there is subtle changes in your weight placement in the saddle along with how your thighs lay on the horse and contraction in your abdomen, these act as a cue to your horse, making your neck reining less obvious and everything look more fluid. Adding this cue to your roster also helps if you ever plan on riding/training for bridleless riding.

The other part to this is looking up!
This is probably one of the most common errors made by new and old riders alike, and a very important aspect in the show ring. But that is not all. When you look down at the ground or your horse's head, not only does it make you less aware of where you are going, it slows your reflexes. So when you use your reins to cue your horse, you are much more likely to jab him in the mouth and your cues all together will be less fluid.

Looking down also tends to pull your body forward in the saddle, in effect causing your horse to fall on his forehand. This is crucial, we want our horses "moving up", with engagement from the hindquarters and a smooth rounded topline.

So as you can see, these two little aspects of horsemanship are more than just good for the show ring, they are essential for all riders to have a good, smooth partnership with their horse.

Look up and where you are going, it is just like driving.

How to Take Senior or Portrait Pic with Horses

2011-07-19T07:00:00.001-05:00

I am not a professional by any means, but have picked up on a few things over the years, so here I have just some quick pointers for you guys to get you started down the right path. I also have a few different pose ideas and ways to make each pose a little better.

Here are a few pointers, then continue reading to read my comments on specific pictures, what they could use to make them look better and more professional:

Be aware of your background--it can make or break your picture and if you are good and your camera can do it, a nice out of focus background, either bokeh or properly using depth of field really adds to the picture
Have a helper shake something, make noises or whatever it takes to help get the horse's attention and ears perked, in some cases it may also help to have a helper set the horse's feet for you, depending on the picture
Take a few more steps back than you normally would and zoom in, the extra zooming helps prevent distortion of the horse's hip and shoulder which is often seen
Of course, have the horse well groomed so the coat is shinny and attractive to best show off your model :)
Try a few different poses and angles to see what you like best. At different angles the horse may look better or you may better show off your subject, just keep shooting until you find what you really like. Coordinating a horse and person take time and patience, just don't give up

The Importance of Angle and your Subject:

This is a cute picture, but the horse is more of the focal point than my subject, it would be beneficial of me to either change the position of the horse or change angle, so that my subject is at least 50% of the picture, rather than here, were really she is only about 25% of the picture. Even so, she really likes this picture, just not to the quality that we would print her pictures to give away with or put in the yearbook.

Precious Moments:

This is another "cute" picture, really more a picture of my horse than her, but really did capture a precious moment.

Better Balance:

This picture is better as far as balance between the horse and my subject, however, my horse still is drawing a little more of my attention. The background is also a bit bright, which is somewhat just a product of the day, but as seen in some of the other photos I took if you looked through all of my proofs could have been greatly reduced by changing the angle the shot was taken from.

Another Good Angle:

This picture is even a little better yet, my subject is drawing even more of my attention, but the horse's ears could be perked forward some more. When I print this one, quite a bit gets cropped off of the sides, so some of that distraction will be taken away.

My twist on standard pose:

Love this picture, I tend to like to do this pose whenever I take pictures of someone on horse back, just something special and cute about it. Seems to take one of those standard portrait poses and adds a cute little twist :).

Precious Moments:

Here, this I just find a sweet pose to use, just for the feel of the picture more than anything else, however it is a little tricky, because you need the horse and subject to be just the right height for each other, otherwise it looks funny.

With Prop "Hat":

Ok, this last two pictures aren't exactly with horses, but I like this pose with a cowboy hat, another nice one is with the hat on the leg. Anyways, I am not particularly happy with these two pictures, but they do look nice. I find this pose works well with the subject holding the hat as though they are putting it on and leaning up against a tree.

Very similar to the last picture, just different angle, I like this angle better for the background and her silhouette, but do not like as well how her arm is covering a bit of her face.

Hopefully these pictures and comments give you some ideas. Honestly some of our best pictures were without horses or any horse related "stuff" like a hat or bridle. We got some really cute pictures just in the western related attire, such as jeans, boots and shirt. It takes some practice to get some really good pictures and you cannot be afraid of taking a couple hundred too, just keep snapping, then you can go back and look at what you have done, make note of what angles worked and what poses worked and be better next time. Also, often times there will be little things that are easy to miss that either make or break your photo, another reason to take at least two each time you are at a pose and angle, especially when practicing.

This article was inspired by my previous article were I just put up some pictures I took, decided it might help if I also shared some of the knowledge I gained shooting them :).

Shetland Pony Congress - Watch Live!

2011-07-12T20:23:00.002-05:00

This is the 65th annual ASPC shetland pony, national show.
Going on July 12th - 16th
Held in Des Moines, Iowa

Sorry, the live coverage has ended for this show

Also view their website to learn more about the show: http://www.shetlandminiature.com/

Leg Cues for Riding Your Horse

2011-07-12T07:00:00.003-05:00

Having solid leg cues are what make the difference between a sloppy riding performance and a beautiful, polished performance. Solid, leg communication with your horse also make feats such as bridleless riding possible. The cues I am listing below are the basics for which all my cues I use, no matter what I am doing, Western Pleasure, Hunt Seat or Bridleless Riding.

These cues take into consideration the natural movement of the horse and trying to make communication make natural sense to you and your horse.
Forwards - Open knees (therefore opening pelvis) & apply calves

*Forwards would be to ask your horse to walk off, speed up or asking your horse for more forward motion. Get to know your horse and see how much pressure you need and how it will vary depending on the maneuver you are asking for.

Stop - Close knees (therefore closing the pelvis)

*What I mean by closing knees is closing them against the horse, or like squeezing them together. Think about it like you are sitting on a tube of toothpaste, your legs control the direction the toothpaste moves in the tube, try pushing a little bit of it backwards, just to bring it to a stop.

Back - Close knees (again closing your pelvis) & apply some calf contact, but slide your legs up a little bit farther than if you were asking the horse to go forwards. Think backwards, this really does help and remember the tube of toothpaste concept.

Turn - Hold the inside leg in a somewhat neutral position and apply the outside leg forward just a hair. This encourages the horse to round themselves around the inside leg, doing so keeps the horse collected and helps prevent common problems like a dropped shoulder.

Pivot - Slide your outside leg slightly forward and apply calf. Do not apply inside leg unless necessary to steady the horse. Either open, close or hold neutral your pelvis, depending on if your horse has too much or too little forward motion.

Sidepass - Hold pelvis neutral, unless needed to stop horse from taking steps forwards or backwards (like I explained when talking about the pivot). Slide outside leg just a hair backwards (think middle of the horse's barrel) and apply calf.

Forehand pivot - Slide outside leg back & apply calf, if needed close pelvis to prevent your mount from moving his front legs.

Head Down Cue (Asking your horse to lift their back and lower their head) - Keep pelvis neutral, lift rein up just slightly & close calves to encourage lifting of their back.

*This takes a little practice, but if you play around with it a little bit, rewarding the horse for the slightest movement, progress will be made. I usually first teach this at the stand still, then eventually at the walk, trot and canter.

Two Track - Same as sidepass, but with pelvis open to encourage forward motion.

These are not the only leg cues out there, everyone has a little bit different way of doing things. But this seems to make sense to most horses that I have ever rode. It all makes logical sense to me and seems to make sense to them too.

Note - None of this training happens overnight, you need practice to make your leg cues solid and discrete. Almost all leg cues are taught with a rein cue as well, to help guide the horse and often times I will use my reins to guide and stabilize my horse. But with lots of practice, eventually you may not need it. Such as if your goal is bridleless riding. Read my article on bridleless riding here.

Sewing For Your Horse

2011-07-06T07:00:00.001-05:00

I have always looked for ways to make horses more affordable, not to mention showing them! So I decided a few years ago I was going to find some ways to make things for them, here are a few things I have done, or thought of doing.

Things You Can Sew
Neck Slinky
Full Body Slinky
Sheets/Blankets
Coolers
Tail Bags
Fly Masks
Show Outfits
English Saddle Pads
Others???

I have sewn a neck slinky, you can buy patterns from suitability, but what I did is borrowed a friends and traced it. Then I used proportions (yup a bunch of math) to downsize it to make a pattern for a miniature horse slinky too. I also made a sheet for our miniature horse (Nugit), I have a pattern for horse size sheets but not miniature horse sized sheets so I took a foal blanket we had, traced than and figured out what I would need to do, to modify the foal sheet to fit Nugit i.e. add 6" in length, and used that as my pattern.

my homemade slinky

I have never made a cooler, but it is really simple and I know at one time I typed up a "how to" make a cooler step by step instructions. Basically you figure out which dimensions you need, cut that out and put an edge binding, and tie stings on it.

Tail bags, well I have a few posts on sewing tail bags already on my blog and in some of the horse related forums on the internet.

Fly masks, this is something new that I ran across. I made a pattern from a fly mask I had bought and then decided that for the amount of work it would take, I would be better off just buying one off the shelf, plus theirs would tend to be heavier duty, because I do not have access to the same materials as the companies do. I did see some instructions on how to make fly masks on the internet though. If I ever change my mind and make one, I'll let you guys know.

this is a show shirt we made

Show outfits. I have been sewing my show shirts since I was 14 years old, well back then my mom sewed them for me. It is a little time consuming, but saves a lot of money! And you can make really cute custom made designs. I bought my patterns from suitability and made/modified one.

English Saddle pads: I made a pink cameo square saddle pad and it turned out really really cute.
I also came really close to making one with the number viewers on the sides, I have a pattern made up and everything! I made the pattern using a saddle pad, my number sheet and some paper. I figured out how big it would need to be ect. I think it would have worked out great but I needed one now (before I had bought my materials), so I bought the pad. Maybe I will still make one.

my cute homemade English saddle pad

Other...
I know there are some things you can do too. Just look in a suitability catalog to get some ideas. They sell patterns that are good quality and have great instructions, they are a little spendy though at around $8-$16.

If there is enough interest, I could maybe write a post on sewing the neck slinky and see if there is a way I can share my pattern through cyberspace.

What have you made or dream of making?

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-02T17:54:00.002-05:00

Tiazz and I back in the day, all patriotic

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone! I know it is hard to believe we are already into July, this summer sure is flying by.

Hope you all have a safe and sound holiday weekend filled with family and friends, and maybe some time with your equine friends too.

Also, two big shows are wrapping up today, the APHA youth World Show (watch live) and the NRHA derby (watch live).

As always, please do not forget about fireworks safety.

NRHA Show - Watch Live

2011-06-28T20:59:00.001-05:00

Check out the NRHA Derby going on now. More information at www.nrhaderby.com.

It is located at the State Fair Arena, Oklahoma City and is going on now through July 2nd.

Watch the live webcast here: http://nrhavideos.com/

APHA Youth World Show

2011-06-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

The APHA Youth World Show is happening in Fort Worth, TX on June 24th - July 2nd.

On top of the show there will also be other events such as a "boot camp" for exhibitors to work hands on with great trainers. And for youth who might not be riding, there is horse judging.

It should be a fun filled event for all those competing and watching!

For more information head on over to www.aphaworldshow.com.
To see results go to www.ywcs.apha.com/results
For a schedule of events go to www.ywcs.apha.com/schedule

Also don't forget about about the APHA Open & Amateur world show November 3-12th and the Pinto Congress November 2-6th.

Update 6/24/11:
Thanks to Chrissy, here is the life feed of the show: http://ywcs.apha.com/videofeeds

Ranch Girl Diaries Giveaway!

2011-06-21T07:09:00.000-05:00

Ranch Girl Diaries is kicking off her new blog with a giveaway! Her mare Ruby is due to foal any day now and the contest is to guess if it is a filly or colt and what color it will be. For each you get right, you get entered into a drawing for a barnwood picture frame.

Check it out at: http://ranchgirldiaries.blogspot.com/2011/06/welcome-back-contest.html

Leather Care

2011-06-18T12:28:00.002-05:00

Most leather can be restored to a certain extent. Although extreme cases of deep cracks and the like, may never be reversed.

My Tool Kit of Leather Care Products Includes:
     -Leather New This is a refined version of neatsfoot oil, I do not notice much of a difference, but it is supposed to stain less, and condition better, so I use it on my more expensive leather
     -Neatsfoot Oil This is great for any dark oil leather, restoring moisture and vitality
     -Small Circular Sponges I love to use theses to apply saddle soap, conditioner and oil
     -Saddle Soap This cleans and conditions all at once and is quite inexpensive and lasts a while
     -Brick 4 Conditioner I use this on my light oil, like my Western Show Saddle, it does not stain, yet it leaves the leather soft and supple

When it comes to working with a medium or dark oil piece, I usually follow the same steps:

1) Remove all dirt from surface with dry or damp cloth

2) Get out a dish with water and saddle soap. Dampen a sponge or cloth, rub it across the saddle soap so that it picks some up, then rub into the leather I am working with. If it is really dirty I will use a lot of water and dry the leather off, then repeat this step a number of times. If the leather just needs a quick conditioning, then I may only rub the saddle soap in and then buff the leather.

3) Once the leather dries I will apply either neatsfoot oil or leather new. I like to use a sponge but a cloth works well too. NEVER spray on the oil, even if it comes in a spray bottle, you may get streaks or spots that will permatnely stain your leather. If you have a spray bottle, spray the oil onto the cloth or sponge and then apply. For dark oil leather that needs moisture I apply very liberally, otherwise I will just apply a thin coat.

4) Buff the leather and it should be good to go.

This bridle just required routine matinenance of buffing with saddle soap and an appication of neatsfoot oil.

The reins pictured below were in horrible shape, they were stiff, musty and by the buckles corroded. So before going through the procedure I mentioned above, I soaked the leather in a bucket of water. That just helps to rejuvinate the leather and when in that poor of condition makes a HUGE difference. Afterwards it was just a quick cleaning, still they were a little stiff, but after I applied the neatsfoot oil they are as good as new and you would never know they were once a dirty stiff mess.

These particlar reins were in very tough condition around the snaps because of the corrosion that was happening, although I was able to soften them up some, the damage was somewhat behond repair. (This photo is from before any neatsfoot oil was applied).

In the pictures below the left side shows a pair of reins after they had been cleaned with saddle soap, the picture on the right shows the rein after it had neatsfoot oil applied. See the huge difference. The neatsfoot oil sealed up those superficial cracks. Since the leather was soo stiff and dry, I rolled the leather after my first application of neatsfoot oil in attempt to get in to soak into the leather and applied it again until the leather surface quit cracking and the leather felt plyable.

Quality of leather does make a difference, notice on the rein below, it had been spliced. The orriginal leather was much better quality than that of the splice. In the photo you notice that the leather spliced on is wrinkled, but luckily not cracked.

When I work with light oil:

First I will clean the leahter with saddle soap. I have never had a problem with saddle soap staining my leather, but it would be a good idea to check on a unseen area of your saddle before using it. Then once it is clean, I will apply the brick 4 conditioner to restore the leather's plyablity. I was so happy when I found brick 4 conditioner because it was the first conditioner I found that actually did not stain my light oil leather! Of course you should check on an unseen area of your saddle before applying to the whole thing. Just in case.

One last thing...Sliver Cleaning

If you need a quick way to spruce up your silver right before a show, try Never Dull. If your silver is really dirty, then use a liquid cleaner like usual...this can work, but it is not much easier in that situation. But Never Dull is handy because you just open the containor and pull off a little piece of the "never dull", it is like cotton that is treated to remove the tarnish. It works nicely, and is quite useful to give your silver back its shine if it is not too dirty. Some catalogs sell it, but I picked up mine at a stand at a horse show.

Go have fun cleaning and conditioning your leather!

Achieving a Slow Western Pleasure Jog and Lope

2011-06-13T07:00:00.003-05:00

One way to help achieve a nice slow jog and lope is rating. It is a really simple exercise especially at the jog and can be used as part of your horse's warm up and will really help them get in the mind set you are looking for. This exercise is especially good for horses who have a tendency to rush when on the rail.

Rating for the Jog
Start by asking your horse to jog for 14 strides, then stop and back up 4 steps. Then ask for 12 strides, stop back up, 10 strides and so on. Do this all the way down to 4 strides, repeat the exercise at 4 strides 4 times.

Benefits

Goes beyond just getting the horse to slow down, it also builds muscle in the hindquarters making it easier for the horse to move slowly
Stopping, backing up and trotting back off again is a good way to collect your horse back up if they are becoming "doggy" on you
You are also working on your horse's stop and back-up, paying careful attention to what you are doing and making sure to use good leg and voice commands can reduce your need for pulling on the reins
Improve your horse's trot off

Rating for the Lope

This is almost exactly the same as for the jog. Instead of starting at 14 strides though, start at 16 strides, then stop back up, then go 14 strides, stop back up and so on all the way down to 6 strides. Repeat the exercise 4 times at 6 strides if you feel comfortable, then switch directions and go again.

Benefits

Same as for Jog
Also improve's your horse's lope off
Helps prevent your horse from wanting to rush on the rail in your pleasure classes
Lays the foundation for using the half halt to slow your horse down in the show ring

Articles

2011-06-12T08:15:00.000-05:00

My Horses & Me

Read about what I have been doing with my horses and other things happening around here, also view pictures taken of my horses and hear about my training stories.

Horse Showing & Training

Read articles I have written on showing and training horses along with some of my own experiences.

News, Major Shows and Giveaways

In this category I try to keep you up to date on what is happening in the horse world along with various giveaways I hear of.

Be a Better Rider Tips

Here read my series of be a better rider tips and other articles I feel that pertain to this subject.

How To...

Learn how to make various things for horse and rider including tail bags, lip balm and horse treats and also learn to care for your equipment through tutorials on things such as leather care.

Featured Business

Something I did for a little while was feature an equine related business, not necessarily one I endorse in any way, but one that contacted me or else I felt was very interesting and wanted to share.

Bit Series
Read my series on bits, how they work, what kinds you should use, what the different bits feel like to the horses and more.

Also Check Out Some of My Most Popular Posts:

Using and Sewing Tail Bags

The Secret to Bridleless Riding

Sewing a Single Tube Tail Bag - with pictures

How to make Lunge Lines or Driving Lines

Sewing for your Horse

Horse Registration Options

2011-06-08T07:05:00.000-05:00

Almost everyone who owns horses has heard of AQHA and APHA and such, but what if your horse is not able to be registered with them, or you want to double register your horse, what are you options? Do you have options? In this post, I will discuss some options and their pros and cons.

This post is worth reading if you have a horse that is registered already, or a horse that you have not registered yet, or cannot be registered with one of the "big name" registries.

I recently went through this list and found some of them were no longer listed on the internet, all these links should work though. That is one problem with some of the smaller registries as some were small and not well known so went out of business, so make sure to do your research before spending any money.

You might be surprised how many alternatives you have, and that many really are reputable and have some great opportunities that the "big name" registries do not offer. Note that I own mostly stock type horses, so I am missing the Arab, Arab cross, Morgan and other lighter breeds. My main focus is the stock type and the some thoroughbreds. I also have the miniature horse registries, listed here, I believe there are a few more, but I was not able to access a website, so they may have been absorbed by a larger registry. As far as that goes, I am not sure, because I have never been able to find any more information.

I am doing my best to write this in a way so you can skip around without missing the big picture, because I understand that you may not be interested in reading about all of these.

Registries I will talk about in this post...I have already done the research, so I might as well share with you!
-The Big Registries-Jockey Club, AQHA, APHA and for the minis AMHR and AMHA
-The Palominos PHBA and PHA
-National Quarter Horse Registry
-American Appendix Horse Association
-International Pleasure Horse Registry
-National 1/2 Quarter Horse Registry
-American Part-Blooded Horse Registry
-American Grade Horse Registry
-Pinto Horse Association
-National Pinto Horse Registry
-Performance Horse Registry
-Gold Seal Miniature Horse Registry
-World Class Miniature Horse Registry
-Falabella Blend (also for miniature horses)

Some of them I will give detailed information, others I will brief on. These are not all the registries, but a good chunk of them that portain to the stock and miniature horse, but not just them!

The Big Guys
I love the big registries, but sometimes you cannot register with them for some reason or another, and it is also nice to be able to double register, especially if you have a breeding stallion and would like to reach out to a larger group of people.
AQHA-this is great, they have some really nice programs and really realistic prices.
Jockey Club-Registers TB, I think they cost a lot to register with, but I am not too concerned since I do not own any full TB.
APHA-Registers breeding stock and paint horses, these horses have to have parents registered with APHA, AQHA or the Jockey club. They also have some nice programs, and are huge as well!
AMHR-Affliated with the Shetland pony registry, they accept NO hardship registrations, but have both an A and B classification for height.
AMHA-Accepts hardship registrations (cost a lot though), and only horses under 34". They developed because more miniature horses were imported from oversees and AMHR would not accept them into their registry. (this is according to what I have read)

National Quarter Horse Registry
I really like this Quarter Horse registry. Back when this all started AQHA registered horses from some farms and NQHR and many other smaller registries registered the rest. NQHR absorbed many of the smaller ones AQHA may have too. NQHR allows new blood into the breed and have done many good things for AQHA like pressured them to allow the TB to influence Quarter Horses and they also had something to do with the white marking rule changes. NQHR is not ran by an association but rather the members.
There are 2 main sections of registration, Breeding Stock and full Quarter Horse. With a certain amount of crosses of the Breeding Stock with full Quarter Horses, they will also be considered full Quarter Horse.
Sections of Breeding Stock Registration
-Quarter Type (basically hardship registration)
-1/2 Quarter Horse
-3/4 Quarter Horse
They also register Paints but under a separate section of the registry
-Paint, has at least 3/4 QH blood
-Paint type, looks QH, but does not meet the bloodline restrictions
Registration of Ownership-This is a great option, I think so anyways. If your horse has a pedigree and you do not want to pay the fees of registering, or if your horse does not have a pedigree. The papers looks just like the registration papers, but say registration of ownership instead.
Fees-
$25 membership
Starting at $20 for breeding stock and $25 for full blooded registration*
$25 registration of ownership
$25 double registration with AQHA, APHA ect...
*The registration fees do increase with age, but once they reach a certain age, the fees drop off.
These guys have GREAT customer service and if you e-mail them with a question, they almost always have an answer for you the next day.
Like I said, I feel really good about this registry, they are currently not hosting any shows, but plan to in the future.

American Appendix Horse Association
This registry accepts double registry with AQHA, APHA and stand alone registration of a horse, any color (can have paint markings) that has a mix of Quarter Horse and TB breeding. They currently have a flat registration special of $30 no matter the age of the horse. Membership is $30 and $15 for the youth. They do not host any of their own shows, but do reward their members for showing with the performance card program ($15). Each year a high point winner is awarded. They accept points from any breed, local, 4-H or riding club show. All you need is the Judge to sign the card. This registry looks promising and allows a nice way for those Quarter Horses who both parents are registered appendix to be registred and their breeding to be tracked.
Fees-
$30 regular registration
$50 hardship registration
$30 membership
$15 youth membership

PHBA and PHA
These are also good options for double registry to add value to a horse. For the Palomino Horse Breeder's Association, your horse must already be registered with an approved registry. Palomino Horse Association is open to any horse, registered or not, with a documented pedigree or not.
Fees-
PHBA-Registration Starting at $30 and increasing with age. Membership $44 and $15 for youth.
PHA-$45 any age registration without a membership, double check with their site for more detailed and accurate information.

American 1/2 Quarter Horse Registry
This registry has options such as crossing to make your horse 3/4 of a breed and so forth. They have programs for recording points, riding miles and more. Membership is $25 and registration starts at $25 and you have to pay for the points and riding programs. For this, I would also rather register with NQHR but this may work better for some people.
Fees-
Registration starts at $25 for foals
Membership $25

American Grade Horse Registry
The home web page currently says the registry is closed to new applications. Their fee for registration is $25.

International Generic Horse Registry
These guys also register grade horses. Everything you pay for registration fees goes to programs that benefit horses and horse research.
Fees-
$25 base registration (costs less for foals and more for studs, check web page for more information)

Pinto Horse Association of America
This almost fits into the category of the big name registries, but I felt it was worth writing about. Good way to double register horses, they accept miniatures and ponies too. Prices can get spendy if you do not register when they are young though.
Fees-
Registration is $20 for foals
Membership is $30.

National Pinto Horse Registry
This is a great alternative to the PtHA and costs to register does not increase as the horse gets older. Not only that but they also have 5000 members. They have different classes of registration and the cost starts at $30. Their different classes of registration include horses that have no paint markings but out of a paint marked horse, horses with one parent who was paint marked and horses that carry two copies of the paint colored gene.
Fees-
$30 registration (does not increase with age)

World Class Miniature Horse Registry
This is much larger than Gold Seal Miniature Horse Registry, and only costs a little bit more, sometimes less. This registry is also more well known and more often recognized. Hardship registrations are also affordable here. This could be a good opportunity to double register your miniature horse or register him for the first time.
Fees-
$15 starting price of weanling registration
$32 adult membership and $5 youth

Falabella Blend Registry
Check your miniature horse's papers for this one, my miniature horse has it marked right on his, one of his grandsires was a falabella making him eligible for this, they also offer free research to check and see if your mini is part falabella. This would be a great way to get your miniature horse double registered.
Fees-
Free Membership
$20 starting price of registration and $15 set price for geldings

More...
Of course there are more. There is one that registers "Trail Horses" and for $125 you can get a lifetime membership, a horse registered and mircrochiped. Their are many Arabian cross registries, if you have an appaloosa there are also a number of options there. If you want to know more about the options for registering your particular horse and I did not cover any registries here, just do a search on your favorite search engine, you may have to go through many pages searching to find all your options, but you may find it is worth it in the end. Do not forget the endless color registries for anything from buckskins to horses with the champagne gene.

I hope this helps some people and opens doors to more options than you might have realized. If you have another registry that is worth noting, please leave a comment and let me know. Or maybe you have your horse registered with one of the above registries? I appreciate all feedback!

First Time Ground Driving

2011-06-03T22:12:00.002-05:00

Equipment Needed

Surcingle (or saddle with stirrups tied under the horse's belly)
Snaffle bit and headstall
Driving lines
You and a helper if you feel it is needed, it just helps prevent accidents and injuries
Patience and understanding of your young horse

Today was Romeo's first time ground driving. I think he did quite well.

I started out his session working on showmanship and basic manners like I talked about in my post, Things I do Every Time I Ride, then I lunged him. I started out his lunging just free moving on the lunge line for a warm up, then did some work with side reins. When I was done with that I got my other lunge line (the kind I make and have a tutorial on how to).

I started out his work out on a circle just like I would lunging, to make it somewhat familiar. I also at first kept the outside rope across his back instead of behind his hip. This just also made the whole thing a little less stressful. One of the first things I made sure to teach him was how to stop.

After he became more comfortable and has been worked like this in both directions I let the rope fall behind his hip. He did really tuck his butt under himself when he first felt the rope there, but then after a little bit relaxed some.

Once he was used to the feel of the bit and the rope behind his butt, I worked him at the trot and did some figure 8's, to teach him the bit pressures of changing directions.

Once he was becoming more comfortable with the figure 8's, I started to have him walk with me behind him instead of on the circle. This went very well, I took him for a walk like this in the back yard and down our driveway a ways. Twice he tried to speed up and trot. The first time I allowed him to trot around on the circle. The second time I was able to just use some rein pressure to slow him down. He did very well and was becoming quite comfortable with the bit pressure by the end.

I was very happy with our first time ground driving! Romeo did very well and was moving much better than he ever had on the lunge line by the end of the session, at the trot he carried his head and neck level off his shoulder and he acted like a nice relaxed trail horse going up and down the driveway.

Those Tails

2011-06-03T21:52:00.000-05:00

I talked about how well my horses' tails looked after a winter of tail bag care in a past post, but didn't have any pictures to go along with it. I took a few pictures of my two 4 year old mares' tails today. Here they are for you.

Now my horses are out of their tail bags for the summer because they live in a pasture and need their tales for fly swishing. So anyways, here are a few pictures of them. They are not "perfect" tails or quite as thick as a fake tail, but I am pretty proud and think they look pretty good.

Senior Pictures with Horse CoModel

2011-06-01T09:16:00.004-05:00

I had Kai be a model for some graduation pictures I took. I think they turned out pretty cute! Kai was so good that day, just had a bundle of patience to stand around and be photographed.

These are just a few pictures I took of her with Kai, my 4 year old bay mare. If she decides to use them, they will be cropped down then, but that will happen when we decided the size of print. Oh and by the way, this is my first attempt at doing some senior pictures :), I think they turned out kinda cute. We will probably take some more pictures later too, this was quite a spur of the moment unplanned date. She was over and I just had the crazy idea, good thing she is the same size as me, so was able to borrow a few of my shirts, jeans and cowboy boots!

Want to learn how I took these pictures? Check out: How to Take Senior or Portrait Pics with Horses

The pictures are downsized and have the quality reduced for internet viewing.

New Look

2011-05-28T15:43:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone, I just switched my blog over to the new template designer option that blogger has. It works pretty slick, things I used to have to change with HTML editing, now is just a few clicks. I also jazzed up my background a little bit and upgraded to google pages.

Hope you like the new, cleaner and a little more streamlined look.

If you have any comments or something you think I should change, just let me know via comment or you can e-mail me. Thanks everyone for reading my blog!

Thick Lush Tail Success!

2011-04-29T19:03:00.005-05:00

Tail Bag correctly tied into the tail

I just did my horse's tails for the spring yesterday and they are gorgeous. Its been a little bit since I took out my tail bags last and all of my horses' tails were dragging on the ground.

I do notice that genetics plays a noticeable role in the length and thickness of the tail. Two of my horses have tails right now that look like fake tails, one of them has a really nice thick long tail, but not as thick as those two mares and Zorro my Appendix Quarter Horse gelding has a full length tail, but his just doesn't get thick like the rest of them. My Arabian too, she has a gorgeous long flowy tail, but not super thick like the others.

All I did for the winter was braided the tails up and slipped a single tube tail bag over them, redoing and moisturizing the tails periodically through the winter. Then this spring, I combed through the tails with my fingers, then to prevent breakage later when I take the tails out of the bag for the summer, I cut the tail off, straight across right below the fetlock joint. That is a beautiful cut that really helps show of the thickness of the tail. I wish I had a picture to show you, but I didn't have my camera outside with me and I already have the tails back in tail bags...maybe next time. *Update I added pictures of the tails in this post*

I have a few articles on sewing and using tail bags:

How to Sew a Single Tube Tail Bag - With pictures!
Using and Sewing Tail Bags - Includes instructions on how to make a single and three tube tail bag
Winter Care With Tail Bags

Equine Terms

2011-04-27T07:04:00.001-05:00

Maybe there is a big book of equine definitions out there, but I haven’t found one yet, especially not one with current terminology used in the Upper Midwest, United States. Around here people ride both Hunt Seat style and Western style and there is much confusion between some of the different terms used between the two disciplines and there is some grey areas, but the definitions below are pretty good rule of thumbs.
So I wanted to write a little post on some vocabulary terms commonly used around here and some commonly confused as well…

English Riding and Tack Terms

Walk – 4 beat gait, the slowest gait, same work use as Western
Trot – 2 beat gait, should be long and flowing, equivalent to Western jog, just is generally a bigger moving version of it
Canter – 3 beat gait, equivalent to the Western lope, but should exhibit more of a ground covering movement
Gallop – 4 beat gait, equivalent to the Western run
Noseband – Noseband piece on the English bridle, equivalent to western caveston

Western Riding and Tack Terms

Walk – 4 beat gait, same as English walk
Jog – 2 beat gait, generally slower and less ground covering than English trot
Lope – 3 beat gait, also generally slower and “smaller” than English canter
Run – 4 beat gait, equivalent to the English gallop
Caveston – Almost exactly like the English noseband, sometimes used on horses to prevent gaping at the bit
Saddle Pad – A pad generally at least 1/2 inch thick, used under a saddle to give padding to the horse’s back
Saddle Blanket – Decorative piece used under a saddle, often used with a western saddle pad underneath for padding, often seen in the show ring to color coordinate with outfit
Snaffle bit – Any bit that does not have shanks or a curb strap for leverage, generally has Dee rings, O rings, eggbutt or full cheek style
Curb bit – Any bit that uses leverage through shanks and a curb strap

Styles of Riding

Hunt Seat (Flat) Pleasure– In a stock class like quarter horses or paints, I will compare this class to western pleasure for the English riders, horses are expected to have a level headset and fluid forward moving gaits
Hunt Seat Over Fences – Similar to the above but small fences are used as well
Hunt Seat Equitation – Generally a pattern is used in this class along with rail work and the class is judged on the rider’s body position and ability to control and work with their horse
Dressage – “the art of training”, this discipline uses an English type saddle with longer knee flaps and demonstrates through the various levels, patterns and maneuvers great control of the horse.
Western Pleasure – Shown in western saddle, rail work is done at walk, trot and lope to exhibit that the horse is a “pleasure” to ride, level headset and slow natural movement and manners are rewarded in the show ring
Western Horsemanship – Also show in the western saddle, like hunt seat equitation since a pattern and rail work are also generally used to judge the rider’s ability to ride in harmony with the horse in proper riding position
Western Riding – This discipline is not widely seen in my area of the US, especially in open shows, but is a pattern performed completely at the lope once the horse jogs over the pole and a series of lead changes are performed
Reining – Another discipline generally only seen in the breed shows and not open shows around here, but is a class that is supposed to show off a good ranch horse, performs all three gaits (or 4), horse also performs spins and sliding stops within the pattern. This is a really fun sport to watch if you want to pull up some videos on YouTube, Stacy Westfall’s bridleless ride is especially fun to watch
Showmanship at Halter – Class is judged on the horse/rider combination ability to maneuver a pattern that generally includes, setting up, walking, trotting, backing and pivoting in hand, this class is shown in hand. A sliver decorated leather halter with a chained silver lead is generally used for stock type horses.
Halter – This is often confused with showmanship, but halter is actually judged on the horse’s confirmation where showmanship is judged on the horse/handler’s performance

Equine Fitness–Collection Doesn’t Come Without Fitness

2011-02-18T17:38:00.000-06:00

I recently purchased a book called Equine Fitness by Jec Aristotle Ballou. I am not one big on buying books, for one I do not want to spend the extra money and tons of information is available free on the internet. Two, I like to learn hands on and clinics are great for that. Three, who really has time to sit down and read something in this 21st century.

Jec Aristotle Ballou goes through the horse’s body, talks about how it all ties together into the big picture, including basics on nutrition and has exercises to go along with what she is talking about.

Just looking at the title, “Equine Fitness”, this book is much different than I expected. It does go through fitness, but it really does talk about it in the sense of how you can bring your horse into peak physical performance to achieve collection. She does not call it that in her book, but essentially that is all it is.

With collection such a hype word in the horse industry, I think this would be a great book for people to read, to just get a deeper understand if nothing else on how the horse’s body works together to achieve something beautiful and collected.

Most of the time when I think about equine fitness, I think about magazine articles that talk about the importance of warming up and cooling down and the fact that you should slowly bring a horse up to working hard.

Jec Aristotle Ballou does go through those basics, but takes it a whole step further. She has 48 main exercises in her book to go along with corresponding trouble areas or focus points such as stifle strength. It made me think more of a workout plan for people…if you want to work on your biceps, do this and this. This really did this, to work on your horse’s balance, canter downhill and so on. Each main section of the book, talking about a certain part of a horse’s anatomy or physical aptitudes had some exercises to go along with it.

She also includes a chapter on stretching and just briefly shows a couple massage techniques you can use if you cannot afford a massage therapist.

In the very back of the book are the 48 exercises on card stock with serrated edges so you can rip them out and take them to the barn. This is a really smart idea as it can be easy to forget.

Here is a photo of the pullout cards in the back, there are 4 to a page with instructions on one side and either tips or a visual on the back.

Ok, so yes this book is aimed towards the dressage rider as you can see in the pictures but everything she talks about is pertinent or good to at least understand no matter what discipline you ride. As many of you know, I ride western pleasure and hunt seat pleasure with my horses and I think most of my valuable information has come from reading classical dressage trainers work rather than western pleasure or hunt seat trainers work.

This book is very affordable, retail value at 19.95 USD. I bought it on Amazon, because I found it while looking at some books on Amazon, for 13.57 USD. If you stop by amazon, you can take your own sneak peak inside the book and decide if it is right for you or not.

Happy riding and reading!

2 Types of Bits

2011-02-15T07:27:00.001-06:00

Here I have some more notes and thoughts from a presentation by Dale Froyum on 1/29/11 and 1/30/11 called Bits and Biting at a equine seminar I recently attended.
1. Snaffle Action - Rings on the side
2. Curb Action - Shanks on the side
Snaffle Bit
1. Natural response to this bit is elevation - just think of the purpose of the bridoon in the double bridle
2. Its main points of pressure are the corners of the mouth and the tongue

A horse must learn bit carriage, where the bit becomes a part of him
You must also teach response to the bit
The above two things are generally taught to the young horse in the snaffle bit because it is the easiest bit for the horse to understand due to its simplicity.

Curb Bit - Rotational Bit
Points of Pressure:
1. Chin Groove
2. Tongue
3. Bars
4. Corners
5. Poll
The Neutral Position to the curb bit is flexion
Most common mistake of 4-Hers and Amateurs
1. attach the curb strap in the wrong spot, where you can attach snaffle reins, right at the mouthpiece level
2. the curb strap needs to attach above the mouthpiece
3. if it is not, the horse will flick its nose, quit stopping and backing
Adjustment of the curb strap
1. If in bridle rings, have it so it will rotate 30 degrees before it comes in contact with the chin,
2. If it is in curb rings, have it so the bit will rotate 35-40 degrees before coming in contact with the chin
3. In bits like a true spade bit, it is much tighter, because that is really high level training and the bit should not move, otherwise the spade will bang them.
Horse shoe mullen benefits over a regular mullen
1. It is flat on the bars
2. Reason to use a mullen in general is if a horse has a sore tongue or irritation.

*Note the above information is my notes on what Dale Froyum said and do not necessarily represent my views. I am just sharing what I learned with all of you.

Bit Basics

2011-02-08T13:31:00.001-06:00

Here I have some notes and thoughts from a presentation by Dale Froyum on 1/29/11 and 1/30/11 called Bits and Biting at a equine seminar I recently attended. I talk about some of his thoughts on usage of bits and bit fitting, including hackamores.
Bits are a communication tool. Bits are often overused, as they are just a communication tool, just like our seat and legs, not a primary communication tool.

As far as bits go, basically horses do not care, as long as it feels good they are happy
Bits will not change the horse and a bit cannot change the horse that you have.

Rules – To prevent confusion and resistance
1. Do not expect a horse to do something you have not taught them.
2. Never use the bit as a single communication tool or as a way of punishment
Horses will always attempt to do something that will make them more comfortable. So when they respond favorably to a cue, you must release the pressure and make them happy.
A horse learns in increments and needs little rewards
Discomfort -- Comfort
Asking and rewarding, once again, the discomfort should be equal to the resistance.
Hard Mouth Do not jerk a horse's face -- this gives a horse a hard mouth. However this is not a literal hard mouth, but a mental hard mouth. Even though you may think that putting large amounts of pressure on a horse's mouth would cause a hard mouth, it does not, it is the jerking. If the heavy pressure is needed and worked up to gradually it is ok.
Primary Pressure Points on a Horse's Face
1. Over hard bony areas or
2. nerves close to the surface
3. the exception is the corners of the mouth which is more less just tissue, but is a pressure point.
Important with hackamore and nosebands
1. Do not allow them to go below the bone on the horse's nose, it will interfere with breathing.

Bits are generally designed to resolve a problem or make communication better.

Bit Fitting
1. Width is very important with a broken mouthpiece otherwise the nutcracker action may occur
2. The bit should be in the back 3rd of the bar
-sometimes if it is a little loose, they will learn to hold it, this may be ok for when a horse is learning to carry the bit on the lunge line, depending on the horse

*Note the above information is my notes on what Dale Froyum said and do not necessarily represent my views. I am just sharing what I learned with all of you.

Jogging with Collection

2010-11-13T11:25:00.002-06:00

If your horse is uncomfortable at the jog, it probably means they are falling on their forehand. This may feel like the horse is slightly rushing or just not very soft or round, so it is awkward/hard to turn, stop etc. To combat this, you need to keep encouraging them to move their hindquarters underneath themselves. This process takes time for the horse to build up their muscles and getting a nice soft jog does not happen overnight. It takes many hours in the saddle working on building up those muscles and you can use some of the exercises listed below to work on that.

If your horse easily falls apart, one way to build muscle is to do lots of:

transitions, not just from one gait to another, but also in between gaits. The whole time asking your horse to keep those hindquarters working underneath them.
Another exercise would be to spiral in and out of circles.
Working on pivots or roll backs -- these cause your horse to round their back and strengthen those muscles if performed properly. I will incorporate them into my stops.

Once you can master the extended trot, eventually you can shorten the stride back down to a jog and then once the jog is mastered, you will start to be able to work on the lope.

You may also like: Achieving a Slow Western Pleasure Lope and Jog and Achieving Collection, Self Carriage and Balance

Watch Quarter Horse World Show Live!!

2010-11-10T08:18:00.003-06:00

Click on the links below to watch the AQHA World Show Live

2010 AQHA World Show - Performance Arena

2010 AQHA World Show - Nordick Arena

Coverage will continue through November 20th 2010

View World Show Results

Watch the All American Quarter Horse Congress Live 2010

2010-10-05T08:45:00.006-05:00

Coliseum Live -- Provided by USTREAM

Celeste Center Live -- Also provided by USTREAM & Reelhorse

Equine.com Sweepstakes

2010-06-11T14:25:00.003-05:00

Enter to win in the equine.com sweepstakes by going here and filling in your name, address and other contact info. You can sign up, once a day and refer friends to earn more "bonus entries". This is to celebrate their 15th anniversary and over $40,000 in prizes will be given away.

The Grand Prize is a 2011 Exiss Aluminum 3 horse gooseneck horse trailer.

Monthly Prizes including books, DVDs and CDs from Julie Goodnight's training library.

Weekly prizes include 1 year magazine subscriptions to magazines such as Horse & Rider, Dressage, Equus, Rodeo and Horse Journal.

To sign up go to http://www.equine.com/giveaways/index.html?siteCode=EQU

Ground Tying

2010-03-31T07:00:00.002-05:00

Ground tying may look like something that is difficult to teach, and it might be if you try to do it all at once. The fact is with teaching a horse to ground tie is it does not happen overnight. It must be taught in increments and some horses catch on MUCH faster than others. That squirmy, hyper horse will take longer to teach to ground tie.

Mistake you do not want to make:
Do NOT let your horse eat if you are teaching him to ground tie, when they eat. They are no longer thinking about standing for you, just eating and they are bound to move to find the best grass. It is a bad habit you want to avoid starting anyways. Almost everyone has seen the person with the horse that cannot keep their noses out of the ground no matter how much they pull on the lead rope or rein.

Do not let your horse move an inch, literally. Ok, stomping a fly is not a big deal, but do not let them move at all, especially in the beginning. They need to think they need to stay perfectly still. If they move, use the halter and lead rope to put them back where they were, as close as you can get. The first couple lessons this could be horrible, and if you have the hyper squirmy horse, keep your sessions short otherwise you will be likely to get frustrated. If you are just focusing on ground tying for a lesson, setting a certain amount of seconds you want him to stand still would be a good start.

How I teach it:
I do not have time to set aside to teach my horses to ground tie, and I am sure many of you feel the same as me. So how can we fit it into our schedules? Well, I should have put this on my "Things I do Every time I Ride" Post. When I am tacking up, but more often when I am untacking my horses and brushing them out, instead of tying them up, I will just let the lead rope fall to the ground and then proceed as normal. I may go out of sight for a moment when I get something out of the tackroom, or if I am at the trailer to walk to the tack in the back and put the saddle away. Then I will walk to where my brush is and back. All this time I expect them to stand still and if he moves, I will put him back to where he was. Also, I have a verbal cue to have my horses take their heads back up, if they reach down to eat grass. It is really a simple process and if you are consistent, you will see your horse learn fast, of course considering his ability to stand still in general. You can increase the difficulty by having hay near by, making the time you stay away from them longer and such.

Ground tying does not have to be hard, or take hours a day, just include it into your daily work out and results will come quickly. Maybe you'll even be able to get your horse ready to impress your trail riding buddies this spring, or just have the knowledge that you can trust your horse if you do not have some way to tie him.

Even my horse that is really good at ground tying will start to eat once I go in the house, because I have ruined it and stayed in for an hour or two before, so keep in mind that you need to be realistic with your expectations of your horse.

A Horse that Likes Dewormer?

2010-02-09T13:48:00.001-06:00

I use simple paste dewormers, none of that fancy feed on stuff (half my horses will not eat their feed with a top dress dewormer anyways...). I always think it is so funny the reactions horses give to me sticking that tube in their mouth and then squeezing a horrible tasting paste down their throats. I have put molasses on the outside of the tubes before just to make it taste a little better...or at least that was the logic behind it...they didn't seem to think it tasted any different.

I just dewormed my horses last week. Tiazz of course like usual is evading the dewormer before I even bring it up to her mouth. She is after all almost 28 years old and I suppose thinks that maybe she should be retired from this horrible process. Romeo chewed up the dewormer tube when I was administering it to him, what a silly boy. Kai took it pretty well, she fought it a little, but nothing in comparison to how Tiazz did. Zorro just sticks his head up in the air as high as he can and says, no way are you going to give that thing to me!

Now, Chaps is the one I thought was really interesting and lead me to write this. He was trying to steal the dewomer from me! Now, I am not sure if this was a way of avoiding it, or if he liked it and really wanted it. Even after I administered the dewormer, he was still trying to take it from me. So, does this mean he likes it, his taste buds are dead or he just wanted the plastic tube? He generally doesn't grab anything with his mouth but food (he LOVES food!). The lady that owned him before me fed him a whole bunch of whatever...cabbage, carrots, apples, bread and who knows what else :).

Nugit was always good for deworming, I do not think he liked it, but he never fought it. That was nice, I like horses like that!

One dumb thing I have done in the past was, I forgot to take the cap off the end of the dewormer tube! It must not have been too hard on the digestive system because she lived...

Anyone else have crazy deworming stories or that horse that is just so funny?!

The Perfect Horse?

2010-02-09T07:00:00.006-06:00

Is there such thing as a perfect horse? Or are they just like people and each one will have their quirks?

Sometimes I really wonder, because it seems like some people have that perfect horse with no bad habits, and I just don't understand, is it really possible, or can they just not see any problems with their beloved friend?

I used to be able to give my horses the benefit of the doubt, but now it seems that I just cannot trust them 100%. Like when kids are riding them, I find myself always looking over my shoulder to make sure everything is ok. Everything is always fine, nothing bad happens, but I just like to err on the side of caution. None of my horses came to me angels, I have seen horses act up, but when I was younger I thought nothing of it. People love my horses, especially Chaps, ironically I think he had the roughest past of them all when I bought him just over 3 years ago...

Maybe the perfect horse is nothing more than an opinion?

Win a Dura-Tech Wool-Blend Cooler

2010-02-04T16:53:00.003-06:00

Get ready for this year's show season and enter to win a Dura-Tech Wool-Blend Cooler from Horse Tack Review.

One winner will be chose by random on February 28, 2010.

All you have to do is write a review using this form, you may enter as many times as you like, you just write a review for each time you would like to be entered. Horse Tack Review does have a give away like this every month, so this is not your only chance to win something, but the prize changes from month to month.

There are some quality controls they have, like a minimum of 200 words and good spelling to keep their website looking professional and nice.

Remember that when writing this review you are not only entering to win something, you may also be helping someone make the decision to buy or not to buy a product.

Get your review in and good luck!

Dancing Sky Andalusians and Lipizzans

2010-02-01T16:40:00.001-06:00

Quality Lipizzans and Andalusians in Minnesota! Looking for a Lipizzan or Andalusian and lifelong friend, check out Dancing Sky Andalusians. They have some top quality horses along with a gorgeous stallion "Fiero" a Pure Spanish Andalusian (pictured left).

If nothing else, check out their website to learn more about the breed and see gorgeous photos.

Dancing Sky located in Fergus Falls, MN breeds Spanish and Lusitano Andalusian horses along with Lipizzans. They also engage in crossing Andalusians with Quarter Horses and paints or Arabians and Percherons. To learn more about thier crossing along with names for each go here.

As you can see on thier mares page Dancing Sky has some one of a kind mares in the United States and daughers of National Champions.

Diane Korby Says it best:
"I am passionate about breeding the best horses I am able, so I would love to discuss this further in person if you have any questions at all. Rest assured that the horses offered are the result of years of planning and strategic decision making. I refuse to reinvent the wheel so to speak, if I can't improve on the horses already available I have no desire to simply make more babies."

Thier sales page includes pure bred Andalusians, Lipizzans and crosses with Quarter Horses and such as described above.

Check out Dancing Sky Andalusians at: http://www.dancingskyandalusians.com/, they have a gorgeous website!

*Starting up an equine business, breeding horses, or training them, e-mail me at allaroundhorses@gmail.com for consideration to be featured on my blog.*

We Found Him!

2010-01-29T07:00:00.000-06:00

Mystery -- now known as Fred.

I saw him at a local town's celebrations (all the little towns around here seem to have their "thing"). We sold Mystery as a weanling. He was the first foal we ever had born on our farm. He is 4 in the photos here. He gives little kids rides. I am not to fond of this occupation, but I guess as long as he is treated well. He is cute now, just wait until you see his baby picture!

He looks like the "fairy tale" miniature horse doesn't he? His mother was 36" (big for a mini) and he is tiny, maybe 28"?

I am not sure why he isn't shedded out, neither of his parents had a problem with this?

Baby Pictures

I was happy to see him. I guess I have always known where he is, at least I know that he is kept at these stables not to far away. This is just the first time I have seen him since I sold him.

Contest by the Ultimate Horse Site

2010-01-23T10:32:00.001-06:00

The Ultimate Horse Site has a contest to win a t-shirt, tote bag or journal. The more people that enter the more prizes they will award.

To enter, all you have to do is go here and add a tip. Each person may enter up to 5 tips.

Add your tips and spread the word!

I love it!

2010-01-17T20:22:00.003-06:00

I love riding horses bareback,

especially young ones.

When they do not quite have the concept of balance figured out,

their shoulders wander, they test my balance.

My abdominals and thighs try to hold me in place,

but I tip to the side anyways.

Regardless, I stay on, in place.

They throw in a little kick or buck,

toss me on to their neck

or wither.

Somehow I stay on,

they days of my childhood bareback riding experience give me the advantage.

The next day, I enjoy the soreness of my thighs

and the tight feeling of my abdomen.

I really do, the thrill of riding a horse like this is fun, especially when my muscles are really working hard to hold me in place. Tiazz was always like this, she was old and experienced, but she would go in the opposite direction I was expecting and throw me off balance and sometimes throw me off entirely, I usually landed on my feet which is good. She really taught me how to ride! I spent most of my time riding her bareback, that was what was fun to me. I would take her on the gravel roads and run he as fast as she would go. Then I would let go and throw my hands in the air and let my hair blow in the wind. Those were some amazing moments.

Chaps was almost boring compared to her, rarely did I run him and he was to balance, he did not randomly toss his shoulders from side to side and only crow hopped into the canter once, the first time I rode him after I bought him. It was good though. He moves so smoothly, so other people just LOVE to ride him. He is also good with kids and easy to control, so I am by no means complaining.

Then came time to ride Zorro. He was much more like Tiazz with some more TB influence running through his veins. I do not really every run him, but his shoulders were wild flipping from side to side. I think I can attribute this to the ease he has in performing the counter canter. When I started riding him in the fall of his 3 year old year, I did some with the English saddle and the rest bareback. In the beginning days of riding him bareback, he would almost always throw in something which would toss me to his neck...whether it was a small crow hop, buck or unexpected change in direction. I do not think he meant harm, he was just a young gelding with too much energy and at times a mind of his own.

Kai is much like Chaps, but still young and figuring some things out, but definitely not to the degree that Zorro did.

Not sure what Jazz will be like, nor Romeo. I have not had either of them long enough to fully be able to predict their actions and totally understand their personalities. Where I know Zorro like a friend, the kind that can complete each other sentences. That is why people like my training, I know my horses so well. That allows me to handle any problems that come my way without any issues. Even though Zorro is by nature a hyper race bred horse, I can ride him like a well controled, collected western pleasure horse. The only thing is, it often takes years to create this relationship, at least a really solid one Many of the "Classical" dressage trainers reach this form of relationship to be able to work with a horse so well.

See why I like to raise my horses from babies or at least weanlings? I bought Tiazz already broke and Chaps when he was 4 and Jazz when she was 2. The rest of them I raised. That way they know my expectations and boundaries. It makes the first few rides so much less stressful for both of us.

Well, I made this post quite long considering it has not much for educational content...just me rambling on about myself...I wonder how many people will actually read this all the way to the end?

Highlights of America's HQRSE

2010-01-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

These were some articles I found good in the America's HQRSE Janurary-February 2010 edition. This is the magazine for AQHA members. In the past it has been a magazine I page through and throw away, reading almost nothing in it, but not too long ago they put out a survey asking us what we thought of the magazine and I think they have done a great job of refocusing the articles to what people want to read now.

They kept the regular areas like the Marks, I like this part, it is just the funky shaped blazes and what their owners think it looks like. Maybe I like the photos more than anything else but sometimes the shapes are pretty funny!

Anyways here are some of the articles I read:

Polo Pony
They probably always have an article like this, but I found this one interesting. They talked about a class called Polo Pony which there is no evidence it was ever actually shown in but it was a registered class for 5 years. It was actually an interesting class where the rider would through the whole thing carry a mallet. Other than that it is much like other classes with added bits. There was some rail work at the walk, trot and canter. Then they would go through a pattern which is drawn in the article and basically they do some figure 8s and then make a Z...if that makes sence. Durring this they show both slow movement and speed. The judge would also ask the horse to gallop to a certain point then stop and back straight. They could also be required to race another contestant. I think it sounds like fun...to bad it was a nonexhistant class.

Possitive Thinking
Stacy Westfall wrote and article on "The Power of Positive" as it was tytled. It was really good, she talked about how it was important for her durring the Road to the Horse. It made a good point about how well a horse can read your emotions...but it did seem like it was also a good chance for Stacy to brag about her winning. Oh, well I can't blame her.

Deworming
There was an article on deworming, I think it was just stressing putting your horse on a deworming schedule and pasture management. I chose not to read it, I could not stand to look at the gross pictures for too long, I hate worms!

Western Saddles
"Art of the Western Saddle" They had some great pictures in this article, I didn't feel ike reading it, just looking at the pictures.

Dressage
I am excited about this one. AQHA just aproved dressage and they are jumping in head first. They are starting a year long series. In this one they mainly talked about the basics and "The Training Scale". I think the main point is to increase awareness and that is great!

Super Horses
They breifly talked about each of their top horses of the year.

There was more, but that is all I felt like reading. There was a featured horse and something about trail ride, a bunch of updates, more featured people and my favorite the quotes on the back page!
I will share the shortest one, "You can't control a young horse unless you can control yourself." ~Lincoln Steffens
That quote goes very well with Stacy Westfall's article.

Good Job AQHA on reforming your America's HQRSE magazine!

Anyone else get the magazine and like it much better too?

APHA World Show Photos

2010-01-12T08:46:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note if anyone is wondering where to see the "candid" photos from the APHA world show and more it is at Shutterfly, the link will take you right to the APHA page. The prints can be purchased as well.

I just saw this and thought it may be of some interest to some people!

Staying Warm This Winter?

2010-01-11T07:00:00.000-06:00

Isn't he cute! He looks like a big fuzz ball. It is very interesting how different horses will grow different types of winter coats. My 4 year old sorrel gelding Zorro grows a nice smooth and thin winter coat, where as you can see Nugit, the miniature horse we sold in 2009, in the photo is wooly as a mamouth. Even though Zorro has a relatively thin winter coat, he does not get cold.

The horse is cued to grow their winter coat by the amount of daylight. So if you live farther north like me, that slick summer coat disapears much faster than places in southern US. Genetics does play a role in how quickly they react the the shortening days, the miniature horses we had always grew their winter coats about a month before the rest of the horses and Zorro is always the last to grow his winter coat. Age may also be a facor, some horses will grow their winter coats earlier and thicker as they age.

I personally prefer the thinner coats that they grow later, especially when showing. I was lucky last year with the September show I did because I do not use artificial light or blanketing to try to hold of them growing their winter coats. Even though I show, I still believe that horses should be allowed to be horses. Anyways, all of my horses where fuzzy wuzzy but Zorro. Luckily that was my last show for the year and he was the horse I qualified to show with! Jazz, the two year old APHA mare I bought this spring is very similar to Zorro in that her winter coat is thinner and she did not grow it quite as early as the rest of my horses. So I guess I have two horses I can do fall shows with...? I did take Kai to a September show in 2008 and she was not fuzzy yet, so I assume that weather also plays a factor in growing of winter coats, we had a cloudy rainy fall, so less sunlight!

16 below!

2010-01-07T22:06:00.001-06:00

It was 16 degrees Fahrenheit below 0 and breezy this afternoon, but I couldn't help myself...I just had to ride. Normally I do not ride below 0, but I must finally be adjusting because I did not feel "that" cold. I have lived here my whole life, but each winter the cold shocks me just as much as before.

I rode Kai, my 2 year old. (To learn more about her and my other horses go to the "My Horses" page.) I had lots of fun, it was a good ride. I took it fairly easy because I did not want to have to leave her in the barn all night if she got sweaty, so we just did walk/trot. I rode her bareback and with the halter because it works and my saddle and her bridle were in the horse trailer and not the barn. Am I lazy or what?!

My highlight of the ride is she only has a few rides on her (maybe 30?) but she stops and backs like Chaps (my 7 year old) and pivots like Zorro (my 4 year old)! All I have to do to have her stop is close my thighs...I cannot remember if I even said whoa...I think it was too cold to talk! To back I close my thighs and squeeze my calves. Those are the cues I use to stop and back bridleless too...I am pretty sure I will be able to ride her bridleless in a year or so, but we'll see. Even though she pivots entirely off leg cues, it does not seem to quite transfer to leg cues when I try to neck rein her. That still needs some work, but it is ok, Zorro does not do that much neck reining yet either. Although, I almost always ride Zorro English...

Of course Kai is a little cow horse by breeding (he sire is by Dual Pep!), so when you pivot her 360 degrees in a sand arena she will easily drill a 3" hole with her pivot foot and she is bred to have a good stop. So I suppose breeding has something to do with it all. I wish all horses were as easy to work with as her. I think Zorro could learn a thing or two from her sometimes and I really think Jazz has learned a lot from her. Jazz is such a spooky horse and I swear Kai's temperment has rubbed off on her...or maybe it is just my great training :).

Oh, and I finally got around to my saddle pad. Yup, I actually made it. I used a cute pink camo that I bought probably 2 or 3 years ago with the intention of making a saddle pad. It was a little interesting to sew but we made it. I will get up a post on it in a few weeks or something like that. I took tons of pictures!

Logos: What do you think?

2010-01-06T07:00:00.002-06:00

I made up some "Logos" for my blog. I am not exactly sure what I would use them for, I thought about changing all of my accounts like my twitter and blog's facebook account to a universal look, so it is easy to find, and see what is mine. I am not really sure though, if you have any ideas let me know!

Logo #1 this is something I hand sketched, scanned on the computer and then added the circle around it and the wording, I did the western pleasure bridle, the english bridle and then the snaffle bridle on the right to be considerd a training bridle. To go along with my name "All Around Horses".

Logo #2 - This is a centered front view of Zorro's face. I thought it was cute, but I think I decided I do not like the photograph centered.

Logo #3 - This is the same photograph, off centered. I used the oil painting effect on this one.

Logo #4 - This is Zorro with the English bridle. I gave it some depth with the grass and along side his face. I also used the oil painting effect on this one.

Logo #5 - This is Zorro's face again with the english bridle and an ink sketch effect done to it.

Logo #6 - This is the same picture as above, done in a pencil sketch, and following alongside his body with no view of grass.

Well, there we go. I am not exactly sure what I will do with them...any ideas? I just thought I need a logo of some sort and decided to have fun doing some photo editing. Oh, and do you have any favorties?

AQHA Added Dressage

2010-01-04T07:00:00.014-06:00

After 9 years of studying dressage AQHA finally added it to the list of point earning classes. This came into effect Jan 1st 2010. There are some restrictions and a fee you have to pay to AQHA but it is probalby worth it for those Quarter Horse dressage lovers.

The fee that must be paid is a license fee of $85 per a horse which is valid for the lifetime of the horse.

Open, amature and youth divisions remain as normal, but AQHA will only count Training Level 4 through the Grand Prix level towards breed points.

For more information visit AQHA's webpage regarding the new addition.

Long Manes?

2010-01-03T07:00:00.001-06:00

You have probably noticed that I am a Western Pleasure and HUS enthusiast. So I cut my horses manes 4 - 4 1/2 inches long.

When I was looking at the AQHA world show results, I noticed a few of the horses with long manes in the pleasure sector. One example would be, Ona Good Impluse, he was the western pleasure winner at the the Bayer Select.

Also in the AQHA journal Zippos Mr. Goodbar has a long mane in his stud add.

What is up with the long manes? Are they trying to make a statement, or are they also participating in other events like reining or ... where their manes are long?

Just trying to figure this out, any thoughts?

Sell That Horse: A New Online Equine Classifieds

2010-01-01T07:00:00.008-06:00

There is a new Equine Classifieds on the block. They started up about a year ago.

Their motto is "Your Classified Headquarters For Horses Saddles and Tack"

Their Website is: http://www.sellthathorse.com/
For more information and how to get free ads keep reading...

The site SellThatHorse was started because of their love for horses. Their thought was to give to the people who own horses or wish to own horses, a great place to sell or maybe buy their next horse of their dreams. Also, on this site, they have a place for listing horses, saddles, tack, farmland and home. Additional listing may be placed including, but not limited to bucking stock, trucks, trailers or anything relating to equine and/or farm needs.
Check out their twitter and facebook pages at: http://twitter.com/sellthathorse and http://facebook.com/sellthathorse

They are currently running free ad specials to increase their ad base, to help enhance the Online Equine classifieds options.

To post a FREE ad use coupon code freelee at checkout in coupon code box.
Check them out, post an ad or browse the ads already on their site!

*Starting up an equine business, breeding horses, or training them, e-mail me at allaroundhorses@gmail.com for consideration to be featured on my blog.*

Added 1/20/10
I posted a classifieds on Sell That Horse and it was quick and easy to use and the coupon worked great!

New Look

2009-12-30T11:10:00.003-06:00

I am pretty much done with the new edits to my blog. I changed the background to wood, I thought it was appropriate and it gave my blog a little bit of a rustic look.

I am not sure if I like 3 columns, I may change it back to 2. What do you guys think?

I made cute little post dividers, the snaffle bit and rein. I drew it up and then scanned it on to the computer to edit it.

I made a new header. I could not decide which photo to use, but I put Zorro's yearling photo up there again, it has been my blog's header image since I started it and I just could not change it. I wish I knew how to do that rotating thing, so everytime you refresh the page it goes to a different one, that would be neat!

Hmmm...I also made the text larger. I did not like the blogger default which I think was set at extra small.

I made a navagation bar, hopefully it will help you find stuff in my blog.
I also hope you guys like that I added a navigation by topic on the upper left hand side. I guess that left sidebar is kind of handy :).

For more information on what I did go to my design page and scroll down to the "blog" part.

I am in the blog editing mood lately :). I also did Olson Quarter Horses blog for them and Not Quite a Hobby Farm.

I would love to hear what you guys think, or if you have any other requests for me to change something.

Be a Better Rider Tip of the Day: Just Relax

2009-12-24T15:39:00.001-06:00

Every time you work with your horse, you are training, but do not forget one of the most import lessons for a horse to learn. To relax. Constant training burns both the horse and rider out.

Go for a trail ride, have a fun ride, or ride bareback just for fun!

It is also good to spend some time just standing and relaxing, maybe lay on your horse's neck or just sit still. This teaches your horse they do not have to always be on their toes and prevents some "souring" and helps prevent them from becoming ansy. This is important no matter what you do: rail classes, pattern classes, showmanship, cow work, trail riding or any other type of pleasure riding.
Your horse needs to be able to relax. It is especially essential in a trail class that a horse can pause for a second and relax. Inability to do this causes many horses try to rush through obstacles sabotages their performance.

Everyone has seen the horse that cannot stand still in the showmanship class or when lined up in a rail class. Those horses are generally constantly being asked to do something and denied the time to relax with the rider, so a rider means always moving always doing something.

Just something to think about next time you ride. Just Relax.

Treat Your Horse for Christmas

2009-12-19T07:00:00.002-06:00

I am not sure how many of you guys give your horse's special presents or treats for Christmas. Something I started when I was younger was giving them a little "treat" with their morning feeding. I have made my own and just used those store bought ones, I think the horses liked the home made treats better :).

Some friends of mine once gave me a basket of goodies, some horse treats and some people treats that they made like fudge and bars. All of us were happy, the horses and me!

If you are looking for a fun project you can give to your horse, or "Treat your horse for Christmas", I have a few ideas for you. I found these recipes a few years ago, I bought some off e-bay in an e-document and then realized they are all over the internet, for free...oh well. I cannot remember exactly which ones I have made, but here are a few I thought looked nice.

Oatmeal Cookie
1 cup uncooked oatmeal
1 cup flour
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp corn oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup molasses

Mix all the ingredients, make small balls and put on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking oil. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 min or until golden brown.

Breakfast Cookie
2 cups quick oats
2 cups bran
2 cups corn meal
12 ounces molasses
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup flour

Mix and let sit for an hour. Make small balls and bake at 350 degrees for 20 min, or until brown on the edges.

Apple-Carrot Cookie
3 diced carrots
3 diced apples
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup molasses
1 spoon honey

Mix and create balls. Refrigerate until served.

Sweet Horse Treat
2 handfuls of baby carrots
2 apples, diced in big chunks
2 handfuls mini pretzels
1 1/2 cups molasses
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cinnamon
2 cups dry oatmeal

Mix together and let warm to room temperature. This one looks a little interesting, if anyone makes it, you should post a picture in the comments!

Of course this is not all, if you search "horse treats", there will be more websites than you can visit in a day. I realized that most of the ones I have require baking. I am not sure how nutrition savvy the makers of these treats are, but isn't that how it is with people treats are too. A couple should sweeten them up, but too many are not healthy.

Note: do not feed horses peanuts, but I guess peanut butter is ok

Have fun, and treat your horse this Christmas!

Follow Me: Twitter and Facebook

2009-12-03T20:40:00.002-06:00

I have expanded my ways people can follow my blog. Just making it more accommodating for those who do not have blogger accounts or do not use them very often, with the rising popularity of facebook and twitter I thought maybe I should join the chaos.

Twitter: My blog posts are also posted on twitter using twitterfeed, and I also put some other random fun stuff up like quotes, or websites to visit or cool links I found on the internet when I have time. Feel free to check it out and follow me.
http://twitter.com/AllAroundHorses

Facebook: All of my blog posts also get ran through facebook and if you have a facebook account, the title and first paragraph or so many words will post to your homepage, it would be a nice easy way to follow my blog if you do not otherwise visit blogger very often.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/All-Around-Horses-Blog/174962650687

So if either of those are your thing, you have two new ways to follow All Around Horses blog!

If you have any other requests let me know...

Win a Free Saddle

2009-12-03T15:57:00.002-06:00

Win a Free saddle with Dennis Brouse

Saddle Up with Dennis Brouse is drawing for one free saddle per a month for the next 12 months. The saddle is a custom saddle from Bronco Billy's.

Go to http://www.saddleupwithdennisbrouse.com/newsletter.html to sign up, the only catch is you must subscribe to his newsletter. There will be a random drawing from those who are signed up for the newsletter each month a saddle is given away.

Sewing a Single Tube Tail Bag

2009-12-02T09:18:00.001-06:00

For information on maintenance on the horse, sewing a 3 tube tail bag and what kind of materials to use, read this post I put up about 6 months ago.

Now that you know what material to use, I generally use Lycra, and you are sure you want to make a single tube tail bag, lets start by cutting it out.

This is the piece of material I had to work with

Determine The Size--use the measurement of the horse's tail again, but now cut the material out to be about 3" shorter than that. And make it 10" wide.

You could make a pattern to follow, but I just follow the lines on my board, it works well for me.

Sewing--Fold your piece of material in half, like before, sew up the one side with either a 1/2" or 1/4" seam allowance again. Also sew up the bottom, I tend to round it off to make it look nice, but you can just leave it square if you like. Then take a scissors and cut three tabs on the top (for you to use to tie in the bag). Make them go down about 5", anything shorter does not tie in and stay in well.

It helps to first pin the fabric in half with the right sides together.

Sewing--Sew the seam with either a 1/2" or 1/4" seam allowance, which on you choose really doesn't matter. I personally use a surge machine which makes a nice 1/4" seam. If you do not use a surger, it would be smart to do a zigzag stitch along the edge. So one each one you have one seam along the long side, making 3 nice tubes. Then you can connect them by either using a small rectangular piece of material (about 2"x6") and sewing them all to that, or you can sew the three together(this is a little bit more tricky, but looks very nice in the end!).

I use my surger to stitch the edge, make sure to take your pins out before it goes through the machine!

So now you have a nice little tube

Turn the tube inside out

Cut Three large tabs in, about 4"-6" in, whatever you need to tie it onto the horse's tail, I generally cut it a little bit short and take a scissors with me, when I got to put it on the tail, because then I can make them a little bit longer if needed.

And now the finished product, tied into the tail. I weave the tabs through the hair, just above the braid, and it stays in nicely.

Bareback Riding

2009-12-01T20:01:00.002-06:00

For some of you, riding bareback is a common thing to do, for others it might sound cool, but you have never tried and for a few, it might sound like a death trap with the horse you are riding.

I have rode every single one of my horses bareback. About a month after we bought my first horse I asked my dad to lead my on my horse so I could try riding bareback, it sounded cool, but at the time I was a little nervous. Needless to say, it did not take me long and I was hooked.

Reasons to Ride Bareback:
-Improves Balance
   -Can help with position errors such as the "chair seat position"
     -Increases confidence...when done safely
     -much more...

Reasons Not to Ride Bareback:
     -Horse is not safe to ride bareback, i.e. bucky, bolts, ect.
     -As a rider you are not ready, meaning you cannot keep yourself balanced and centered on your horse
     -Confidence issues, wait until you are ready or at least have someone with you to help if you are unsure

I have a few interesting incidents of riding bareback...none of them had bad endings, but I supose they could have. One time when I was looking at a horse, considering buying it, I rode it bareback because it is something I normally do and didn't really thing twice about it. Well, this horse apperantly was not a fan of being rode bareback and would not stop rearing. It was nothing I couldn't handle, but certainly was unexpected. Of course while learning to ride bareback and developing my core and when my Arab decided she was going to go in a different direction than I specified I made good friends with the ground. Ok, I did not fall of that many times, maybe 10 times over the course of 3 years. At least half the time I landed on my feet so it was not that bad :). The third is when I started riding my now 4 year old (Zorro). Lets just say he could be a little squirmy and jumpy...almost everytime I rode him bareback for a couple months, it was almost guarenteed I would end up on his neck once. Just once a ride though. I did not ever fall off though, so that was not bad. But that is not something I would recomend. When I started riding him he was fine, because his beginings riding was either in an english saddle or bareback, it was later when we were working on the lope and canter...because sometimes his shoulders would squirm around or a crowhop would get thrown in...something like that.

Ok, so I fell off my horse a few times while riding bareback, but my balance was AMAZING! I knew the Miss Rodeo(I cannot remember if she was ND or MN) at the time and she could not beleive my balance. To me, as a little 14 year old or something I was pretty happy about that. Now the idea of a horse rearing up or bucking makes me nervous, but at the time I had rode other people's horses that acted up without thinking about it because I so much confidence in myself, I was also about 115lbs and 5 crunches away from having 6 pack abs worth bragging about...I miss that body. Anyways, my Arab was a hard horse to balance on in comparasin to the smooth quarter horses I ride now, mainly because she was bumpy and stubborn, she made me work hard. I remember when I got my first Quarter Horse and then I would ride her bareback occasionally and it would make me a little sore afterwards in the abdomen and thighs.

It is really easy to lean forward and let your shoulders roll forward when riding bareback, especially if you have a tendancy to look at your horse's neck/head. This is something to think about, it really is a bad habit you do not want to transpose into the showring, plus it is all-around bad for your horse because it will encourage him to lean forward, falling on his forehand.

Another thing to note is be ready for your horse to tip his shoulders especially if you have a tendancy to lean, this is something people do not notice that much while in the saddle, but it can really throw you off while riding bareback. My Arab had a tendancy to do this, that was why I fell off about half the time.

Have a good bareback story to tell, something to add or how bareback riding helped you, I would love to read your comments!

Happy Bareback Riding!!!

Jazz is Now Officially Painted Performer

2009-11-30T13:15:00.002-06:00

Jazz, my 2 year old paint mare is now officially "Painted Performer". When I got home from black friday shopping, I was pleased to discover Jazz's registration papers to APHA had come in the mail.

If you did not know, I bought Jazz at the end of the summer. For more information on her and my other horses, please go to the My Horses page. I fell in love with her and she was priced very reasonably.
Her owners had never sent in her registration application though. Luckily for me, everything was filled out and ready to go, even all the signatures were there for the breeder's certificate. Now I am planning to send off her stuff for Pinto Horse registration.

I have not started riding Jazz jet, I am getting pretty close though. I would like to see a little bit more precision in her work on the lungeline and ground driving first. I have been taking it really slow with her because I have a bunch of other horses to work with and she is still young, no point in rushing things. I am hoping my 2 year olds this year will be ready for 2&3 year old western pleasure next summer. Which one I show will depend on which one is better and most ready to show. I am already riding my other 2 year old and she has a western pleasure jog to die for, so we'll see. I am not ready to decide which one will be better yet. They are both still really short! Kai is about 14.1hh at the wither and 14.3hh at the hip, Jazz is about 14.2hh at the wither and 15hh at the hip. They still have quite a bit of growing left. I am expecting them to be around 15-15.2hh when full grown.

Well, anyways, there is my post full of excitement. Especially since before I got her papers I had to chose new names...I new all the names I picked the first time I sent it off looked to good to be true. After I recieved my membership information in the mail, I realized I was able to check and see if the names were in use using the online services, so I did that before I sent in the names the second time. At least she is now registered!

E-mail Newsletter

2009-11-30T12:58:00.004-06:00

As many of you know, I offer an e-mail newsletter. It delivers the updates from my blog right to your e-mail inbox. I am currently using Feed Burner to deliver my e-mails. It is a free service provied by Google.

It is delivered whenever a new update is something new is published on my blog, so you will always be up to date.

To sign up, just enter your e-mail adress into the form below.

If you do not recieve the confirmation e-mail, please check your spam inbox, and you can mark e-mails from me as not spam to prevent this from happening in the future.

I hope you enjoy the newsletter!

What is Comming Up

2009-11-23T15:44:00.002-06:00

I have a whole bunch of posts comming up that I just need to finish or get photos ready for. A few of them, I am just reluctant to start because I know it will take me a while to finish and with the holidays approaching, life has been busy!

Some of the posts I have been working on getting ready:
- Sewing single tube tail bags, I have the photos ready and just need to type the instructions up, I have a general tail bag sewing post, but no pictures, so I decided to basically add to my other post by adding pictures

- I have some photos and good ideas ready for a post on using 'my version' of a balance training system, I just need to downsize the quality and put my watermark on the photos
- Showmanship, someone requested that I do a post on my training of showmanship horses, and I would LOVE to, I just need to sit down and start, probably write an outline or something to get myself organized. I am not sure what I will do for photos, if any...because I like to only use my own photos, so that may mean a post without photos or I will have to find a model, we'll see
- I took some photos of ground poles so I could write a post on using them, I am just not sure what all I want to write about with them yet. There are so many different applications of ground poles
- I would also like to add a few more "Become a Better Rider Tip of the Day" if people like them
- There are also some others...but I cannot think of them right now

I did get up my post on leather care, but since I started it before I posted a few other things, it came up below all of those other posts, so I am not sure how many of you got to read it.

Thank you for everyone's patience, and I hope that my updates on some of the major world and congress shows that have been going on, along with links to their live feeds if I can find them, have been helpful.

AQHA World Show is Playing Live!

2009-11-19T08:35:00.002-06:00

Here is the link to watch the AQHA world Show live.

http://www.horseshowwebcasts.com/shows/2009/25207/client.html

NCHA World Championship Futurity--Watch Live

2009-11-18T09:57:00.002-06:00

National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity

To Watch Live go to

http://www.horseshowwebcasts.com/shows/2009/25206/client.html

Dates: November 21 - December 13, 2009

Location: Will Rogers Coliseum - Ft. Worth, Texas

More Information and Show Schedule: NCHA Futurity Page

NCHA World Finals Show

2009-11-18T09:54:00.001-06:00

The National Cutting Horse Association World Finals Show

November 24-25 and 27-28, 2009

The show is held in the Will Rogers Complex - Watt Arena - Fort Worth, Texas

There will be live webcasting of the show, go to NCHA World Show Page for more information.

National Barrel Horse Association Wolrd Championships

2009-11-17T12:57:00.004-06:00

Sorry I am a little late on this one. It was going on October 26-31 in Augusta, Georgia.

The youth World Show was durring July in Mississippi.

Approximately $350,000 was paid out in prize money.

For those who do not know the National Barrel Horse Association has a 4D format.

For more information go to the NBHA's site.

AQHA Has a New Registration Certificate

2009-11-10T16:47:00.001-06:00

AQHA just came out with a new registration certificate that they started to use durring the world show. It is really nice looking. They said the image they were looking for was something worthy of framing on the wall. It is landscape oriented, with a larger pedigree and identification photos on the back rather than front.

All horses from now on will be issued this certificate or if you transfer ect. Owners may also order this new certificate to replace their old one for $10.

For more information, and to see the new certificate go to http://www.aqha.com/news/2009PressReleases/11092009_newregcertificate.html

This is exciting news for all those AQHA fans out there who were not happy with AQHA's last design.

Flying Lead Changes

2009-11-08T18:53:00.001-06:00

Today I decided I would see if Zorro would do a flying lead change, I figured I would not be out much if he didn't...and guess what, he did! That was our first attempt at it. Last week I did some flying lead changes, nearly flawless with Chaps for the first time in about a year. So, you may be wondering where this post is going...well, I am going to give my 2 cents on flying lead changes. I unfortuantly am not going to give you an easy as 1, 2, 3 outline on how to do flying lead changes, because I do not typically beleive in outlining steps for horse training. But I will give you ways to help get your horse ready for flying lead changes.
The reason is I know every horse is a little different and no universal steps will fit every horse's needs. It is as simple as that. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you might be thinking...wait a minute, because on my post about bridleless riding, I wrote out a set of universal steps to follow. The reason is, teaching a horse to ride bridleless is just having them do something they already know, without the bridle. I consider the steps layed out in that post, more of a guideline on how to wean yourself (and your horse) off using the bridle. There is also quite a bit of room for adjustment to whatever your circumstances are.

Okay, now to get back on topic...

What "I did" with both of my horses to these last weeks to ask for flying lead changes:
I took them into my backyard where we have some trees for landscaping and I circled and weaved through, and around the trees. I also used my reins and legs to cue my horse to move his hip and shoulder into place for the other lead. I let them set their own head and sped up the lope. The reason I sped up the lope is it is harder for a horse to perform a flying lead change if he/she is moving slowly, when you think about it, it really does make sence, because they do not have the momentum to keep them moving along.   If I did let them slow back down into a lope more accpetable for the western pleasure show ring, they would break down into the trot at the point of lead change, thus doing a simple lead change.

What I attribute my success to is training prior to asking for the lead change. Some things I think are very important your horse can do before asking them to do a flying lead change include:
     - Pick up their leads on a straight away and a circle without much question
     - Be able to move your horse's shoulder and hip separately with your legs
     - Be able to pick up your horse's shoulder with your inside rein
     - It is helpful if you are able to pick up a counter canter
     - Relaxed, calm figure 8's with control over your horse, a nice bend and symmetrical circles
     - Simple lead changes, in a variety of different circumstances, including on a straight line, figure 8's, on a serpentine, ect...
     - You should also be able to ask your horse to do things such as pivot on the hind and forequarters, sidepass and two track

There may be some other things that could help you succeed at the flying lead change, but I believe I have outlined some of the more important ones above.

If you want to cheat...well, kind of cheat:

Just watch any gamer perform a barrel or pole weaving pattern. What is universal among all of them who make good time? Flying lead changes. You can use patterns like those to help your horse do a flying lead change. If your horse is physicaly ready to do a flying lead change and is fairly well trained and you take him through a pole weaving pattern, it is more/less natural for him to switch his leads, just because it makes moving through the pattern easier. Plus your horse will learn to shift their weight backwards when the switch. That is just a thought, but it could be potentially quite helpful in helping the horse understand the concept of flying lead changes with a rider on his back.
If you horse has never seen a pole weaving pattern before, it is in your best interest to gradually introduce him to the concept by first walking and trotting through the pattern, to teach them what they are going to do and to make the turns really nice, and when you are moving in between the poles, two track over instead of just turning your horse from side to side, this will help the horse learn to move their hips and shoulders over to help them perform the lead change. You may even want to break down to a trot and two track over, in between the poles the first few times you attempt to lope through the pattern. That will just help to reinforce your leg cues, and prevent your horse from rushing through, falling on his forehand, ect.

Flying lead changes are not something to be afraid of, or something that only those fancy show horses can do. It is a semi-complex maneuver that shows off your ability to control your horse's hind and forequarters while at the same time showing off their athleticism. Once you have mastered the flying lead change, it is a fun, little thing to add to your riding and really makes those reining and western riding patterns look possible!

Quick Tail Wrap

2009-11-05T12:43:00.003-06:00

I have wrote an article or two on sewing tail bags, but what if you need a quick fix, because you either do not have the time or resources to sew a tail bag? Then you can use this quick fix, which I used on my Arab mare just last week.

To sew and use cloth tail bags, check out this.

You Will Need:
Vet Wrap
Rubber bands

First I braided her tail, used two rubber bands at the bottom to hold the braid and then folded it up and used a few rubber bands to hold it in place.

It should look something like this:

Next I took the Vet Wrap, I started in the middle of the braided area of the tail, worked my way up the tail and then worked my way down and then back to the middle. Once I reached the middle again, I tied it off in the middle to hold it in place.

It will look something like this:

I left her tail up like this for about a week. The reason I decided to use this method is because I did not have an extra tail bag on hand and it was really muddy out, and it irritates me to let their tails drag in the mud. Not only do they get gross, but it also breaks hairs, which thins the tail. A horse's tail is very important to me, especially since I do not own any fake tails, so I take good care of their real ones.

Before wrapping her tail in the vetwrap, I cleaned and conditioned it, including putting a leave in conditioner. That will help restore her hair from the mud which dries it out and makes the hair's brittle.

APHA 2009 World Show

2009-11-03T15:21:00.002-06:00

The American Paint Horse Association World Show is comming up Nov 5th - 14th.

For more information check out: http://www.aphaworldshow.com/fall/index.aspx/

Links For APHA World Show
Premium Books and Forms
Qualified To Compete PDF
Class Results
Class Listing
Exhibitor Search
Horse Search
Show Schedule
World Show News
Cash and Prizes

More Information

Become a Better Rider: Tip Of The Day

2009-11-03T08:34:00.002-06:00

Do not lean in when riding corners or circles with your horse. I am sure many of you have heard this over and over again, but it is so important and easy to forget. I saw a picture of me riding last week and realized I was guilty of this...I am usually pretty good, but it happens.

It is not fair for us to expect our horses to move correctly and straight on our corners if
we, the riders, are leaning from side to side, it sets them off balance and makes it more likely for them to drop a shoulder, fall on their forehand or just a general loss in balance.

So if we expect our horses to stay balanced and centered, we better do that ourselves first.

Lookin Forward...The Quarter Horse World Show

2009-10-29T21:08:00.002-05:00

Now that the Quarter Horse Congress is over, it is time to start thinking abought the World Show!!! It is already Novemeber 6-21 at the State Fair Park in Oklahoma City.

Just today, I got my AQHA World Championship Show Souvenir Program.

Reelhorse.com has said that they will not be broadcasting the world show like they did the congress show, so I am not sure if anyone will be covering it online.
UPDATE:
It is playing live, go to http://www.horseshowwebcasts.com/shows/2009/25207/client.html

Good luck to anyone competing, and don't forget to have fun!

Horse and Rider Magazine Price Increase?

2009-10-29T08:49:00.004-05:00

Last time I got my Horse & Rider subscription notice in the mail they wanted about $20 per a year. Last time I paid $10 or $15. There are some cheeper ways to get it out there though, and other magazines on sale too!

On Amazon.com it cost $15.95, so $0.95 more that it used to, but thats not too bad. So if you do not mind buying online, you can still save $4.00.

Horse Illustrated is only $10 on there right now! Or 2 years for $18, that is a pretty good deal. I get my Horse Illustrated for free though for participating online on Horse Channel's Horse Club. Anyone can, and it is kind of fun. Here is a link to Horse Club. Or you can go directly to Horse Illustrated and buy it for that price, by clicking here. If you buy it from Horse Illustrated, you get a free year round horse care, downloadable e-book.

Young Rider is at $20 for a 2 year subscription or $12 for a one year.

*Special offer is now over*
Amazon also has this offer going on up til October 31st 2009.

$5 Promotional Certificate Offer

For each eligible subscription you purchase before October 31, you'll receive a $5 promotional certificate within two weeks for use on a future Amazon.com purchase. See the full list of eligible magazines, with bonus certificates up to $15--the more you buy now, the more certificates you'll receive later.

There are numerous other great offers right now, just search Horse Magazine on Amazon.

Links

2009-10-28T09:38:00.012-05:00

Would you like to be added to my links page? Then link to me. I have several quality jpg links to choose from, or you can use a text link. Just leave a comment and let me know where you are putting the link, once I verify it and make sure it is on a relevant website, I will add you to this page.

Breed Associations

APHA - American Paint Horse Association

Appaloosa Horse Club - Appaloosa Horse

AQHA - American Quarter Horse Association

Arabian Horse Association - Arabain Horse Registry

PtHA - Pinto Horse Association

Norwegian Fjord Registry - Norwegian Fjords

NQHR - National Quarter Horse Registry

NPHR - National Pinto Horse Registry

Jockey Club - Jockey Club (TB Registry)

Informational/Social

Equisearch - Plublisher of Horse & Rider along with other magazines

Carole's Real Horsemanship - Link goes to her blog

Horse For Sale/Directories of Breeders

Dream Horse - Old widely used horse classifieds

Quarter Horse Directory - Get your ranch/stallions/mares listed for free

Horse Topia - Horse Classifieds

Equine Now - Free Photo Horse Ads

HorseVille - Horse Classifieds

Sell Your Horse - Great NEW equine classifieds, free listing

More Great Bloggers and People!

Sasha Lyons & her Blog

Life in the Fields - Educational Blog and Book Reviews including life with horses

My Horses

2009-10-28T09:36:00.011-05:00

Lady Tiazz
1982 Registered Half Arabian Mare (1A 229753), her percentage of Arabian blood is actually 15/16
Lady Tiazz aka Tizz was my first horse, together we learned a lot. She does everything...but driving. She jumps, does Western Pleasure, Hunt Seat, Dressage, cattle work, gaming-ie barrels and poles, trail riding, showmanship... She has been a great horse, many people have learned to ride on her, now she is semi retired as a 4-H cloverbud horse and the horse to go to when working cattle.

Chaps
2002 Sorrel Quarter Horse Gelding
Chaps was a rescue horse, and it is assumed he is registered and bred very well, although his papers were lost in the complications of it all. I have considered trying to trace back to his breeders, but I have never got around to it, and I figure that if someone didn't care enough about him to feed and care for him, they probably did not care if he had papers or not. He was rescued as a yearling, so we know his age fairly accurately.
I bought Chaps when he was 4. This was the last year I showed Lady Tiazz formally, besides fun shows. Chaps was green broke, I know this is a very subjective phrase and needs a definition to make sense...so just to give you an idea, he could not even trot next to me like done in a showmanship class. Despite that, we worked through it all, I gradually learned the stock style of showing as I trained him. Two years later he is successful in the show ring and very consistent in his bridleless riding. Three years later, I am letting my younger brother show him and he is still winning at the local level in Western Pleasure/Horsemanship, Showmanship and Hunt Seat classes, even some placings in the gaming classes when the class sizes are smaller. He has no training in the gaming events...yet...they are just to make showing more fun.

Zorro
2005 Sorrel Quarter Horse Gelding
Both of his parents are registered with the X (appendix) code in AQHA, so he is not registered. I am slightly upset because that means no breed showing, but I guess it is ok. Zorro was an accidental breeding, the mare was exposed to the wrong stallion, she should have been exposed to an AQHA stallion with full registration...oh well. I love him either way!
I bought Zorro right off his mother at 3 months old. I bought a bay filly the same year, and until we lost her on her first birthday due to a devastating illness I spent most of my time with her and very little with Zorro. After that, I spent hours with Zorro. His yearling year he got an injury to his hind leg, so we did very little, training wise. As a two year old, he knew all of his showmanship and was good at lunging. Once he turned 3 in August 2008, I started riding him. Lightly at first, I rode in through the fall and then gave him a break over winter and most of spring. During this time I was focusing my time on Chaps. Summer 2009 was his first year showing, he qualified for our State Show and placed first in one of his classes. I did every bit of his training since I bought him at 3 months old.

GJ Lady Kai
2007 Bay AQHA Mare
I bought Kai as a weanling at 6 months old. She had NO human contact before this, she was raised the old fashioned way out on he range. She came from a rancher who breeds high quality cow bred quarter horses and registered Angus. I slowly warmed up to her...at first if you got with in 4 inches of her, she would jump to the other side of her stall as if you zapped her! Within a week, I had her halter broke. I used tarps, and ropes and whatever else to desensitize during the first few weeks. She knows all of her showmanship and lunging. She also ground drives and the summer of 2009 I started riding her very lightly bareback and in a halter most of the time, but occasionally with the snaffle bit. My intention is to preserve her joints so she will be able to show into her late teens without any arthritis. I foresee her being a great kids show horse in a few years. I will most likely have her until she dies...either that or my mom will claim her, she loves this horse.

Painted Performer aka Jazz

2007 Sorrel Tobiano APHA Mare
I bought Jazz in August 2009 because I thought I needed another two year old...I am not sure what I was thinking... I really do like her, she is a gorgeous horse with a nice short back and strong hip. I look forward to riding and showing her. I hope to have her ready for 2 and 3 year old western pleasure next year. As of October 2009 she ground drives, lunges and is learning to do the showmanship maneuvers, she knows most of them, now it is just to make them quicker and neater.

Romeo
2009 Palomino Quarter Horse
Romeo's mother was boarded in our barn for a few months before she foaled and until Romeo was weaned. I traded with the breeder the 6 months boarding for Romeo. Romeo has been shown in one showmanship type class for training horses during 2009, which he won first in and a belt buckle. He is a real sweetheart and will be a great hunt seat horse. His dam is an Appendix Quarter Horse with the Raise a Native breeding which as crossed well into the Quarter Horse line not only in race bred horses, but also hunt seat and western pleasure horses. I have high hopes for Romeo in the show ring, but the next couple years will really show how successful he may be.

How to Make Lip Balm

2009-10-25T19:04:00.003-05:00

So you may be wondering how this relates to horses...but it really does. Especially this time of the year. I personally have a tendancy to get chapped lips when I ride my horses outside in the dry fall/winter air.

I have never been truly happy with the conventional chap sticks with the petroleum base because it never moisturized my lips like it should, it more less just sat on the surface and then somewhat protects them, but doesn't heal.

About 3 years ago, I met someone who has relatives in africa. They had a business where their relatives send them shea butter (its called Ledgends of Africa). I bought a tube of lip balm, and I was amazed! But when I ran out, I was not too quick to buy another, because they ran for $3.50 a tube. So I did what I usually do when faced with a problem like this, I went to google. I researched recipies for lip balm and how to make it. I was able to find a recipe that came very close to matching the ingredient label on the lip balm I bought. The only exception is I did not use olive oil. I was very happy with the result. Over the last couple years, I have only made a few minor improvements.

We had actually bought shea butter shortly before I started making lip balm. We bought it from the african store...I beleive the web adress is theafricanstore.com, but if you google it, I am sure you can find it without a problem. It was the least expensive place I could find on the internet for buying shea butter, I also buy their black soap. Many places treat shea butter like a luxury good, but the african store sells it in more plain containors and much of it is in bulk.

For the lip balm tubes I went to wholesalesuppliesplus.com. You really can buy these anywhere, just do not pay more than .20 per a tube, including the cover. You can also buy shea butter at a pretty reasonable price here (3lbs for $12 when I bought it), I think it came out to about the same as from the african store, but I did not think it was as good of quality. I also bought my Cocoa butter there. This costs a bit more than the shea butter. I bought unrefined shea and cocoa butters, but if you do not like the odors you can get refined butters. Cocoa butter smells very nice, but shea butter is a little different. The smell is very mild and taken over by the essential oils in the lip balm.

I bought my beeswax from a local beekeeper.

Now what you all have been waiting for...the recipe...

Cocoa Mint or Pepermint Lip Balm

4tsp beeswax
6tsp shea butter
6tsp cocoa butter
15 drops pepermint essential oil
2 drops tea trea essential oil (optional, I use it for the healing properties)
2 capsuls vit E oil (this is a natural preservative for the lip balm, it is of course also good for your skin)

Directions
1.) Melt wax and butters on medium heat in a double broiler.
2.) Add Essential Oils and vit E just after removing the pan from the burner.
3.) Carefully poor into tubes, once it is semisolid, put the caps on the tubes.
Yield: 10 .15 oz tubes

Variation--
To make a cocoa orange lip balm instead of pepermint, use 16 drops of orange essetial oil for the 15 drops of pepermint essential oil.

When I am making lip balm, I usually do one batch of orange and one batch of pepermint.

To measure the beaswax, if you have it in a block like me, it helps to shred it.

I have never had an issue with shelf life. I usually end up giving away at least half of the ones I make, people just love it. I bought some clear label paper and designed labels for the lip balm containors as well. I have never sold them, I just thought it would be neat to have labels for them.

Enjoy!

Things I Do Everytime I Ride...and maybe you should too?

2009-10-24T22:05:00.001-05:00

I am just going to give you a few exercises that I do whenever I ride or work with my horses, that I find beneficial to me and them. Start with good ground exercises and then do some work in the saddle to make yourself a supple, happy, responsive horse.

First off, when you go to get your horse from the pasture or stall, make sure you horse is respecting you. I understand that not everyone will practice showmanship on the way there and back like me, but at least pay attention to your horse, and make sure he is respecting you and your property. When I am taking my horses from the barn or pasture to where I tack them up (usually by the horse trailer), I add in some stopping, so we can set up, pivot and back at least once. It is just good for the horse, and if you do it after your ride, it helps to prevent your horse from getting sour and wanting to rush back to his pasture buddies.
I show in showmanship, and I find that if you do not practice setting up for a while, they will get lazy about it and not set their feet as quickly and neatly as they should. Pivoting is not only good for the horse in general, but practicing it allows me to make it neater, straighter and faster. Backing up is another respect exercise, since the horse is yeilding to you and trusting that you are leading him well since he cannot see directly behind himself.

Then once I am riding, there are a few things I almost always do, just mixing them in with whatever my plan was for the day. They include; backing, sidepassing and pivoting (both on the hindquarters and the forhand). This keeps your horse light to your cues. If you neglect to practice these for a while, it is just like if you do not practice setting your horse up for a while, they get slower and sloppy. As I have mentioned in my other posts, backing up and pivoting are also great ways to help your horse build muscle for collection, and a nice round back. The sidepass is a combo of the pivot on the forehand and the pivot on the hindquarters. It is actually quite difficult to train a horse to step evenly to the side with both their front and hindquarters at the same time, without moving forward or backwards. It really takes cordination, so mixing it into my praictice allows my horses to slowly develope that cordination, without them becoming sour to the exercise.

Some things I do not always do...but try to mix in everyonce in a while...
Two tracking, this is a great exercise for getting your horse to move laterally, and is like the pivot one that takes some cordination to master. For some horses this is easier than the sidepass, for some it is harder. For those of you who may not be farmiliar with the term, two tracking is essentially having your horse take one step forward for every step sideways and should be practiced in both directions. If you have a horse that has a hard time picking up the correct leads on a straightaway, two tracking into the lope departure really helps emphasize your cues.

Going over logs, usually I do this at the walk and trot; although, occasionally I will also do so at the lope. It really helps the horse to pick up his feet and be more aware of them as well. You can elevate the sides as well if desired. I usually space them 3 feet for trot overs and 18"-24" for walk overs. If you want your horse to reach out more, simply lengthen the space, if you want them to take smaller strides, place them closer together. Take care to make sure they are not skipping poles when you move them closer, or if you have a horse with a big stride.

There are a few others, but I think I will stop here since I have covered some of the most important simple things to add to your everyday riding.

Link To Me

2009-10-23T13:29:00.029-05:00

To add one of these links to your web page, copy the html code below and enter it into your web page's html code.

To add it to blogger, simply go to layout, then add a gadget. Choose to add an html/javascript and paste the code below into the space.

The only change I permit you to make is change the size to best suit your website, the pictures are my property and you cannot use them for any other use than to link to my blog. Please do not edit the photos or their html code, other than to change the size.

To change the size:
there is something that looks like this /s200/ in the middle of the code. I will allow you to change the size by making that number larger or smaller, but not in any other way. I believe your options are s144, s200, s288, s400, s800. Those are the only sizes I know will work, you could play around and tell me if any others work as well.

If you have problems with any of the codes, please let me know.

If you link to me, let me know and I can put you on my links page.

Watch the Pinto Congress Live

2009-10-22T13:17:00.004-05:00

The Pinto Congress is coming up November 4th-8th and can be watched live at http://www.horseshowwebcasts.com/shows/2009/25249/

Keep reading to see the show schedule and more links...

Click here for more information on the Pinto Congress.

More Links
Premium Book
Daily Schedule
Awards
Daily Results
Photos From the Show
Sponsors of the Pinto Congress
Show Schedule
Wednesday, Nov. 4
Halter
Lunge Line
Pinto Cash Challenge

Thursday, Nov. 5
Lunge Line
Cash Challenge
English
Bareback English

Friday, Nov. 6
Trail
Hunter Under
Barrels and
Other games, ie key race

Saturday, Nov. 7
More Halter classes
Showmanship
Western Horsemanship/Pleasure
Reining

Sunday, Nov. 8
Western Riding
Western Horsemanship
Rail - Western Class

Achieveing Collection, Self Carriage and Balance

2009-10-21T10:10:00.006-05:00

Here is a great exercise to help your horse achieve collection.

Pivoting, stopping, backing and transitioning from the stop to the gait of your choice.

This also helps to spruce up your work if you feel like you are always doing the same thing over and over.

When executing the pivot, focus on shifting your horse's weight onto his hindquarters and really rounding his back through the pivot. This helps him build up those muscles that you want him to use when riding, plus
it allows you to do much more smooth, and fast pivots if desired. It ultimately is teaching him to balance. Even a horse with a long and hollow back due to confirmation should be able to round his back in the pivot.

If your horse is anticipating moving off right after the pivot, take a few steps back because you do not want them to rush out of the pivot, this can cause a loss of balance and collection. The backing is also good for building those muscles.

Moving off from the standstill to whatever gait you choose; walk, trot/jog, lope/canter, is great practice especially if you show in pattern classes because you will be expected to be able to do so. Not only that, it is a great transition for teaching balance and collection. Try to let your horse learn on his own now to smoothly transition, you may have to help him a little bit, if he is hollowing his back a lot, but remember, your horse must learn to balance on his own, this is what makes him beautiful, not you yanking him into place.

When your horse stops, do not let him fall on his forehand, that will make the stop feel abrupt and maybe even throw you forward in the saddle. Ask for a nice deep stop, and work on getting your horse to stop by the voice command along with squeezing your thighs (think of it as restricting his forward motion with your upper leg). When you use the reins to stop your horse, they tend to lean on them which throws them off balance and tends to encourage stopping on the forehand. Another way to think of a deep stop is ask your horse to take one more step forward with his back legs than his front legs when you stop, or driving him forward into the stop.

So some ways to incorporate this into your lessons:
(illustrated below)

When doing your circles, stop and pivot to change directions and change directions often just like you do transitions often to help build muscle and mix things up.
Ride in straight lines, pivoting back and forth, this makes great practice for 180, 360, ... degree pivots for straight lines 90 or 270 degree pivots and make an L. If you can, mixing up the distance pivoted is best. Starting out with 90 degree pivots is good for a green horse, or any horse new to the exercise.
The last idea I have pictured below is doing figure 8's and pivoting at the middle.

Last thoughts--this is a great exercise to fit in when you feel like you are doing the same thing over and over, or to help your horse find balance and collection. It also can be used on the green horse as a simple way to work on backing, moving off and pivoting. It would make a great warm up or cool down, but should not be over-done just like any other exercise to prevent your horse from becoming dull.

click on image to enlarge

Watch the All American Quarter Horse Congress Live!

2009-10-07T09:25:00.007-05:00

Now that congress is over, you can see the achieves of everything that played live by going here on YouTube.

To watch the 2011 Quarter Horse Congress please go here.

Coliseum Live

Celeste Center Live

here

Solid as a Rock...

2009-10-06T20:53:00.003-05:00

If you have ever rode a horse that is solid, you will know it. One of the most resounding charecteristics I can think of is, that they are really nice to post to!

What does it mean for a horse to be solid? How do you achieve it?

A horse will feel solid once they have a good training on them, but what makes them feel solid is not hours of riding, it is hours of training to teach them to tuck their hip under, that is what makes them feel solid. When they tuck their hip, which rounds their backs, making them feel nice and sturdy. It might also feel somewhat like what a horse feels like when they are going to buck, because to buck, they must get their hip under themselves and lift their backs. They will really swing their hips at the trot, with nice forward driving motion, that is what makes it really nice to post to. A horse moving like this will also just have their necks fall level off their shoulders (depending on the horse's confirmation, it may be slightly above or below), no restrictions or awkward feelings and it looks balanced to the observer. They will either be moving level or with a slight upward motion since their forehand is light and easy to move from side to side, so it is easy to turn, stop, pivot or spin, do roll backs, back up on a dime ect.

You achieve it by teaching your horse to really drive from their hindquarters, it frankly takes a long time to achive because the horse must build up muscles. It will not be until they can achieve this frame that you will get a nice slow western pleasure lope, walk or jog. This frame is also necessary to produce a nice flowing stride that hunt seat horses have.

I am writing this from the prospective of a stock type horse. It is slightly different for pleasure type horses but it is the same concept.

Zorro my 4 year old has been doing a lot of developing lately. After a year and 2 months of training he can do this! About 1.5 months ago he really started building up his topline muscle, he has also had a tendancy to go behind the vertical, but when he is balanced this does not happen. If I work him heavy constantly, then he looses it because he is still developing and he gets sore. Like at the MN State Horse Show, that was a 4 day show, our best day was day 1, but a lot! Day 2 he was off, and day 3 he was better because I noticed it and adressed the problem, but not as good as day 1. That is just part of training a young horse though. Zorro is an appendix quarter horse so he is a little bit slower to mature both skelitally and muscularly. That is why I waited until he turned 3 last Aug to start riding him. He just was not structurally ready to start before that and my goal is not to make a show horse in X days, my goal is to make a lifelong companion that will be showing well in his late teens with all of his joints working well. He has been playing with collection for the last 2-3 months but it is not until lately that we are really getting some consistancy (take into consideration that he got from December 2008-May 2009 off of riding). Today was the first time I have ridden him since the MN State Horse Show, so about 2 weeks. When he gets a couple days or more off his performance will be better, because his muscles are fresh and free from the previous days fatigue.

When your horse is reaching that break through point, where they are learning true self carriage, you will see it in the pasture. To a degree a horse's movement is natural, but some of it is also learned and a good chunk of it simply developed. My 7 year old did not look like a show horse when I got him at the age of 4 (as a green broke youngster, no where near the point Zorro is at now), but now in the pasture he moves with a nice level head, nose just ahead of the vertical, nice steps from behind, lifted barrel and a slight tuck of his hip...all the time. It has become his natural. That is the nice thing about a devoloped horse. They always move the way they are suposed to when it comes to their frame, it is just filling in the blanks, like extended stride or not, english or western...that is why kids can show him.

Hope this can help those out there developing their horses muscles to shape them in the right way. If anything is vague or you disagree, do not be afraid to leave a comment. Remember my comments are open to anyone, if you do not have a google blogger account, you can leave annonymous comments.

I love looking at pictures and watching videos, they help me see where I am at with my horse, I should really put some before and after pics up with both Zorro and Chaps (my 7 year old) to illustrate my point.

The Major Registries Slash Prices

2009-10-06T16:35:00.002-05:00

The American Quarter Horse Association and the American Paint Horse Association are all giving discounds on registration of older horses right now, it still may seem expensive, but if you have a horse you regret not registering, now is a great time! And the Appaloosa Horse Club has a discount too.

AQHA
$300 on horses 3+, the regular price on a 3 year old is $550 and a horse over 4 years old normally is $1000, that is a huge savings!!!

APHA
They have the best deal of all max reg price of $100 for colored and $50 for breeding stock. I used this deal with Jazz because when I purchased her, her paperwork had not been sent in, I am now simply waiting for its return...

ApHC
They have a random drawing for renewing members with prizes totaling more than $10,000 and make sure you get the Jan issue of Appaloosa Journal if you renew by Dec 1st 2009 for 2010.

Rating: a useful training tool for every discipline.

2009-10-04T17:08:00.002-05:00

Rating is important for not only horsemanship/equitation and rail horses but also gaming horses. Obviously to make a good turn around the barrel and to make a consistant rail horse, you must be able to control thier speed within every gait. I have an exercise for pleasure horses and a link to one for gamers.

Here is a nice quick exercise that I was taught by a traininer
who now trains mostly hunt seat and western pleasure horses, who are showing at Quarter Horse World and Congress level shows. At the trot/jog he recomended starting with 14 seconds at the canter/lope 16 seconds.

I will just use the example of the trot, starting at 14 seconds and for the lope it would work the same. Trot off, trot for 14 seconds, stop and back, then 12 seconds, then 10 seconds...all the way down to 4 seconds and repeat the exercise at 4 seconds 4 times. At this time if working in an arena or on a circle, switch directions and repeat.

So what good does this really do? Sometimes if a horse is used to going around and around they will naturally speed up and adding the variety of stopping and backing will keep them fresh and thinking about you and what cue you will give them next once you get in the show ring. The other thing is, backing every time you stop helps them to learn to stop on their butts rather than their forehand. This makes for a smoother stop. If you have ever felt as though you are getting jolted forward when your horse stops, that means they are stoping on their forehand, when they shif their weight foreward is when you feel that jolt. I think it is to commonly thought that, a jolting stop like that is good and they will usually call it a "big stop". If your horse is a little slow on his upward transitions from the halt this is also a good time to work on that.

So has you can see there are many benefits to this, but what I have just put there looks like it mostly pertains to pleasure people, so I will include a link to an article aimed more towards the gamers, rather than try to type it up in my own words, why not read it straight from a professional.

Here is the link: http://www.ultimatehorsesite.com/articles/ct_barrelhorserate.html

Rating is very important, so now you have a quick way to get your horse to slow down a bit when they get racey without yanking on their mouths and getting frustrated. Another quick tip for a horse who speeds up when in a larger arena is make circles in the corners every once in a while and some on the sides when you practice. This is just another thing that keeps them thinking.

*sorry for any spelling and/or grammer errors :)*

Lunging For Correct Frame and Headset

2009-09-25T13:32:00.002-05:00

All you need to lunge your horse for headset and body frame is 2 lunge lines, saddle or caveston and a bridle, a halter could also be useful.

Side Reins
Use lungeline and halter to lunge, use reins on the bridle as the side reins, tie to desired length. I like to use leather reins because they are giving. You do not have the elastic inserts when using this method, but it does save you $40 since you need the reins either way.

Bitting Reins
I use my leather reins, run them through underneath their legs and tie on top of the back right behind the pommel of the saddle. This should not be too tight, but you also must take care not to make it too loose so that the horse will get its legs caught, but what I find is when teaching a young horse to accept bit pressure, rather than encouraging them to tuck their nose behind the vertical, it teaches them to reach their necks down and have the beautiful stretch!

Butt Rope
I use one of my lunge lines that I make with 5/8" rope. I attach one end to the snaffle bit, run through the stirrup around the but and through the stirrup on the other side. This encourages the horse to tuck it's butt and lower head at the same time, but must be used carefully. This has comparable results to the balance training system and can be adjusted as far as head set when using the different dee rings on the surcingle.

Ground Driving
This is very useful. Use 2 lunge lines, on attached to the bit and through the stirrup on the far side and one on the near side. This way you can ask for engagement while making circles and headset and everything! It is very useful, you can do almost anything you would in the saddle.

I hope this is helpful. Lunging does not have to include hundreds of different gadgets, you can use everyday riding equiptment to achieve the same great results.

Cute and Showing

2009-09-22T08:20:00.001-05:00

There was a mule at the horse show I attended this weekend, it was our state horse show. I was happy with Zorro, we got first place in one class and did pretty well in the rest of them as well. It was only his third show too!

Anyways, this really cute mule did really well! I think it was young because she still rode him in a snaffle bit for western pleasure and horsemanship. He was not in any of my classes but I think he placed in the top 10 a few times, I should have taken a picture of them! He did nice transitions, rounding his back into a collected lope looked so cute on that funny thing, I did not realize a mule could move that nicely. I decided I would not want to clip out those huge ears though :).

Olson Quarter Horses

2009-09-15T12:56:00.002-05:00

Check out Olson Quarter Horse's new blog, it is filled with great information and tips along with updates on what is happening there and information about their horses. Olson Quarter Horses is the breeding opperation that I work for in marketing, web design and other things like that as a side job for fun.
If you did not know, they breed horses specializing in racing, barrel racing and many offspring have also been sucessful in Hunt Seat, western pleasure, ect.

Click here to visit their website. You can also visit the horses they have for sale listed on eqinenow.com.

Collection

2009-09-15T12:38:00.001-05:00

I asked someone I know and respect for her abilites with horses, and I am amazed by how collected her horses move, well they are world and congress quality horses and many of them have competed there. So I asked her how you get a horse to move like that, and her response was...keep asking. This is so true!

So many times people get caught into theses training aids and fads which they think will make their horse collect, or in some cases simply hold their heads in the correct position, but using this one day and expecting amazing results the next day simply is not feasible. It takes months, even years to teach your horse to move in collection, depending on the horse and training situation. But to truly have your horse move in the correct frame, they must have much more than a head set, that is the other problem, many people only think they need to get their horses head in the right place and everything else will work out, were it is actually the other way around.

You have to know what you are expecting from your horse to contiunually ask for it, so if we could clear up people's misconseptions about collection, we could enhance the overall movment of horses all over.

Well, there is my little tidbit for the day. Enjoy!

Winter Tail Care, using tail bags

2009-09-08T16:07:00.004-05:00

There are many options and products out there that can be used for tail care. I have tried a bunch of the "equine" leave in conditioners and stuff but in the end I am happiest with baby oil. I really like show shine, but it makes the tail slippery so the tail bag does not stay in as well... I have tried a bunch of the "off brand" show shine products even laser shine which many people have preached to me that it is just as good as show shine, but they are different and I like the effect of the "real" absorbine brand show shine. It only costs a few dollars more a bottle an you could be like me and just buy a gallon which will last a while and save you those few bucks you would have otherwise saved buying the less effective off brand.

I buy the gallon size and last time I filled up my quart spray bottle I spilt a little bit on the floor and even though I wiped and cleaned it up, I think that area of the laminate is doomed to being super slippery forever... :)

So my plan for this winter's tail care is baby oil like I used towards the end last year. The only thing I am going to do different is, I am going to spruce it up a bit by putting some tea tree and other hair nourishing things in it because baby oil seems so plain. It does make the hair oily, but I do not show in the winter and their hair gets so dry from the dry winter air that I do not mind.

What do you guys use for winter tail care?

Romeo

2009-09-03T14:20:00.008-05:00

Romeo is for sale, my really sweet 2009 palomino colt. I am asking $1150, neg only to the right home. I would kind of like to see him go to a 4-Her or other horse lover. I think he will make a great youth horse.

Romeo has been shown and knows all of his showmanship and manners.

You can see his add at equinenow.com

DOB: 2/16/09
Breed: Quarter Horse
Gender: Colt

Horse Abuse...

2009-08-30T10:49:00.007-05:00

It seems to be that when most people think of horse abuse they think of people starving their horses or whipping them, whatever. But in my opinion over feeding your horses so that they are overweight or even obese is just as bad. Just think about it, a horse who is overweight has the same health risks as an overweight person, plus then when we go to ride them it is stressful on their joints and backs along with making it much more awkward to carry us efficiently and making collection very difficult.

I personally cannot understand why people take pride in having fat horses. I am not saying I like to see horses with their ribs sticking out, but just the fact that they are skinny shows that you really do not care to make a diet just for them that manages weight, muscle and joint health.

I have been out to a few places lately that the horses are just simply FAT and it drives me crazy. Ok, maybe I have a nicer set up than some people, I do not know, but I have a pasture that I put my younger horses and my harder keepers on that has lots of lush food to keep them looking nice. Then, I have another pasture I use that is smaller and not quite as lush for my easy keepers. They are all together in the winter time in the pasture connected to the barn so that, but everything seems to even out and they are used to eating a certain amount to hold their weight and I have never had trouble with them gaining excessive weight over winter.

Well, that is my "rant" for the day. Just think about it, over feeding your horses is just as bad as overfeeding your kids. Fat is bad, a little layer of healthy tissue is good. Excessive amounts of starches in a horse's diet is just as bad as it is in people.

Lessons Learned From an Old Horse

2009-08-25T08:46:00.005-05:00

I often find myself really appreciating my 27 year old Arabian while training young horses. She teaches lessons that no human could. Sometimes it is just silly, little things but everything from how she balances herself to how she handles young kids, but other times it can mean the difference between me missing the picture all together or making a huge training breakthrough.

One problem I was having had to do with poor downward transitions, I knew my 4 year old was just loosing his balance as he transitioned down, but I could not figure out why. I routinely lunge my Arab and ride her some, and one thing I noticed is she takes and exaggerated step under herself as she transitions down, that is what keeps her butt under herself and allows her to keep balance! Why didn't I think of that...? I am always working to get my horses to work of their hind ends for collection, but for some reason was not thinking about it for transitions. Well, anyways, I have my 4 year old doing much better downward transitions, now just to make his upward trot to lope transition better...!

Well, I had just been thinking about his for a while and thought maybe the insight my Arab gives me could also helps someone else. Also, if you ever get the chance to work with a seasoned show horse, or just an older horse that knows what they are doing, do not turn the opportunity down! They can really teach you a lot.

Obviously this is not the only thing she has taught me, but that was one of the more recent things this summer. She was my first horse and at the age of 27 she is still going strong and loving live.

Almost 2000

2009-08-21T22:08:00.009-05:00

Yippy my blog almost has 2000 hits since whenever it was that I put a hit counter on the site this spring!!! That is pretty cool especially since I took the summer off blogging.

My other blog http://thesmallfarm.blogspot.com/ only has around 600-700 hits, but I did add the hit counter after I put it on here and I also started that blog later...but still. I guess horses are more exciting than the rest of the farming stuff :).

So since I cannot seem to put together a great blog post today, that is all I have to say. Have a great day!

Posture

2009-08-20T22:30:00.010-05:00

I have always been the one getting compliments on my seat and riding posture. So I never have spent much time thinking about it. Well...today I herd otherwise.

Apparently I lean forward from the hips when I ride, who knew! It has become so natural for me that I have probably actually made it look "good". But today I worked with someone who in her earlier days of riding had done the same thing and worked with a riding instructor who very much so let her know. I suppose that just helps you see the problem if it was at one time a problem of your own. It was pretty funny because I would sit back--well it was actually straight but it felt like I was about to fall backwards off the horse I was leaning back so far, and then my legs would go forward...then I couldn't hold my arms where they were supposed to be because I was concentrating so much on where my back and legs where. (Thank goodness I was riding her broke seasoned western pleasure show horse, who is only 7 but won her fair share of big titles!) I think I got it now and I did not really realize how bad my riding posture was until I got home and rode my old Arab and was watching myself ride in the big mirror...I caught myself forgetting what I learned and realized it was a mess! Even though it is still a little awkward in this position, I now know what is right, and it really feels different. My horse can also tell, as it has helped to make his transitions more "balanced".

So here are a few tips if you are having this problem.

Slide forward in your saddle a few inches, then roll back. This will allow you to sit straight without arching your back.
You want your back straight at all times! Imagine someone holding you up by the hairs on the back of your skull, just above the neck.
If you slide your legs forward, stand up in the saddle, slide your legs to what feels like way back and then sit down, and put your heels down. Once you put your heels down it will move your legs forward just a little and it should position your legs to just where they should be.

Throwing Out the Spurs

2009-08-17T21:02:00.003-05:00

Lots has been happening here! I got a new paint mare. She is interested and has the funniest personality I have ever seen. I am also trying to figure out what to do with my 2 year old AQHA mare. I have done a little riding on her, almost all bareback--twice with the saddle. And now to get to the subject of my post...throwing out the spurs, when riding my 4 year old Quarter Horse gelding. He is the one I started riding last August. I started riding him in spurs for this year's show season, but I HATE using spurs on young horses, but I really seem to need them for this horse (and almost all trainers will tell you some are just like that). So here I am with my little experiment.

I show Zorro, (that is his name) in Showmanship, Hunt Seat Pleasure and Equitation, Western Pleasure and Horsemanship. I use spurs in every event but showmanship...I guess that is kind of obvious...anyways, I do not mind using spurs for making a horse/rider combo look effortless in the show ring, but I think I am too reliant on them. So I have tried going "spurless" for a week and it was interesting! All but one day I rode him in Hunt Seat style. At first I tried to just ride like normal, just minus spurs. That was not exactly effortless, when I normally would give him a tiny nudge with the spurs, I now tried to kick him. I swear they have completely different meanings! He does all the lateral movements fine without spurs, I do not use them much for that, but our forward motion was messed up. Normally I can use my spurs to lift his barrel and make him do a pretty slow movement for Western Pleasure or in English to ask him to stride out. And his lope off transition was horrible, since I normally use my spurs to set him up!

To help take a different look at collection, I pulled out the dressage whip for when riding Hunt Seat and then switched back and forth between working with and without the whip. It made a huge difference, and I think it improved his reach and authenticity of it. I know that spurs can create a slightly artificial looking movement. I would also 'feel' his forward motion more, but he was moving faster too. So when I dropped the whip he kept most of the forward motion, and let off on the speed a little bit. This is not the first time I have used a dressage whip with him, I also used it earlier in his training, but he is definantly not dull to it. I however never had him get excited or lose control, he just moved off of it very nicely.

So today I rode in our western set up, that means no dressage whip because we need to keep a definite difference between the two. It without a doubt was interesting, but he was good. Our transitions up were somewhat sloppy, but downward ones were nicer.

One thing I really noticed is without my spurs to lift him up, he could really "pull" me forward in my seat, but with the dressage whip to encourage him from behind, I got a little more lift. I think I learned a lot about my own riding and my horse by doing this. I am not sure if I will always need to use spurs to make him look "show ring ready", or if it will be something he will grow out off. I am getting him ready for district and state shows in the middle of September, so I am limiting my experiment to a week. Maybe I will pick it up again later, but that means tomorrow I will go back to my spurs and see what he is like. I really do think he will be improved. I however will agree with the fact that some horses just need spurs as he is the only one of my horses I use spurs on regularly. And I notice a HUGE difference between how he responds to cues and how the other guys do. Some of it might be age, however one of my other horses is only 2 years old, so actually younger. I guess only time will tell exactly what he will end up like!

The Secret to Bridleless Riding

2009-06-30T21:03:00.014-05:00

I want to start off by saying there is no "secret" to bridleless riding. Anyone, with the right experience (a centered and well balanced seat, along with good leg control) and the right horse can do it. I am going to give you some general things to know, as well as a peak in on exactly what I have done for bridleless training and some problems I have encountered.

The right training as far as leg cues and taking baby steps can make a big difference difference. When you are riding with a bridle (whether bareback or saddled), it is good to think about a few things:

Can you stop your horse by just using your but/verbal/leg cues? --Not only is this important for bridleless riding, but also helps your horse to stop more rounded, because if you stop by putting pressure on the reins, horses tend to lift their heads (even if it is almost unnoticeable), hollow their backs and stop on their forehand--Another tip for rounded stops, when you stop your horse, ask for one step or a half a step back, this encourages them to shift their weight to their hind quarters, rounding their back and lifting their forehand. You should never feel like you are going to fall forward when your horse stops, this means they are stopping on their forehand which not only looks sloppy but is hard on their front legs and navicular bones! Also leg cues are very, very important.
Are you yanking/pulling your horses' head to turn, or does he move swiftly off your legs?
When you are moving with your horse, do you have a tendency to momentarily loose balance and maybe put a little extra leg on one side of the horse? When you are riding bridleless, loosing your balance feels like a cue to the horse and can cause momentary confusion. It is ok if you occasionally loose your balance, everyone does it! But if it is hard for you to sit centered, that is something to work on before you remove the bridle.
Does your horse have a willing personality or are you always fighting?

I know many of those things sound very obvious, but without being proficient in those areas, it is hard to ride bridleless successfully. Riding well makes a big difference when it comes to riding bridleless.

I will be honest, I only have 1 horse I ride bridlelesss. He is my 7 year old Quarter Horse, I started bridleless with him when he was 5. I quickly found that without bit interference he moved much more rounded and free. I only have two other horses of riding age, one is an Arab and she will never be able to be ridden bridleless. It is not because she is an Arabian, it has nothing to do with her breed, it has to do with her personality and the training she got as a youngster (she is now 27 years old). She is good with her leg cues, and can be ridden in a halter with no problem, neck reins and little kids ride her all the time, but she just does not have enough respect without something on her head. It is really hard to explain and I spent almost 6 years dedicated to getting her to ride bridleless and the farthest I could get was riding with a neck rope. Then there is my almost 4 year old that I started under saddle last fall when he turned 3 years old. He is just not quite ready as far as his cueing/timing/and such. I am almost confident that I will be able to ride him bridleless though, but I will not start until he is ready. It is better to avoid bad experiences. Well, I do have one more "almost riding age horse". I wait until my horses are 3 to really start riding them (for joint and muscle maturity, I like my horses to last!), but she is a 2 year old Quarter Horse and I have jumped on her for various reasons bareback and bridleless, she knows nothing of leg cues, but if I lean forward and push her neck in the direction I want, she understands. She also knows Whoa as a cue from ground work, but as a backup I can always put pressure on her chest with my hands. The reason I feel entirely comfortable doing this is, this horse would never run off with me and she seems to be scared of nothing. She is cow bred and has an amazingly sound mind, I love her, I just wish cow horse brains came with Western Pleasure horse bodies, :)!

A little bit more background information. I have never bought any trainer's movies or books on how to ride bridleless. I do not have an enclosed pen to ride bridleless in, just a huge yard, field and roads. I can ride my arab bridleless if she is in a small/medium sized enclosed area. I have wanted to ride bridleless since I found it was possible. I have done research like crazy to learn about it but found no secrets or tricks (I wanted to find some). I actually did not find much at all on riding bridleless, just pretty much people that said and all of a sudden I was riding my horse bridleless, or buy this product and then you can ride your horse bridleless... So I did what I usually have to do when it comes to horse training and I do not have a trainer to consult, I thought it through and tried to decide what is necessary for riding bridleless.

Step 1:
If you are familiar with horse training and transitioning through bits, you know: before using a curb bit, a horse should be able to do everything you want it to do in the snaffle bit, because it is the training bit. Starting a horse bridleless is like that, you do your training in the bit and then once they know how to do everything, you can take it out of their mouth. It really helps when you first start that your horse already knows how to neck rein. I also cannot stress enough the importance of your horse understanding leg cues. Not just push left to go left, but to be able to round your horse around your leg, two track, side pass, pivot on both the haunches and hindquarters. I am not saying your horse will immediately be able to do all that bridleless, but the ability to do that will make your job much easier. *Read my article on leg cues for riding your horse.*

Step 2:
Test your horse without the bit in their mouth, use a halter. Are you able to get the same obedience you did with the bit? If not, you are not ready to move on, you either need to work on dominance and respect or maybe your horse does not know the leg cues quite well enough. *It is safest to leave on the bridle and keep the extra set of reins there just in case you need them*

Step 3:
Now test your horse without anything on their head, use a neckrope. This does not have to be anything fancy, I have used a lead rope around their neck, a nylon rein knotted to prevent it from falling off, a twine...whatever works and I have on hand. I spend about 6 months with my Quarter Horse Gelding doing this. Do not rush your horse when training for bridleless, this is one thing that take time and going slow makes them even more sturdy in their training. *Once again, for safety's sake, keep the bridle on your horse and have your reins on hand just in case.*

Step 4:
Let the neck rope hang on your horse's neck, so you are no longer using any neck reining cues, but keep it their for correction if you need it. You should be able to move at all speeds, walk, trot, lope and turn, pivot, sidepass, stop and back at the very minimum before you ever consider taking the neck rope off.

You may find working circles at the faster gaits more difficult. I have tried 2 things once completely bridleless, reaching forward and slapping the horses' neck right behind the jaw to push them back over into the circle and sitting deeper to enforce my leg cues. What I use depends on the situation.

I have studied dressage leg and body cues and tend to use them because they require little body movement, but rather more subtle but yet obvious to the horse cues. This helps me keep centered and balanced while riding my horse, especially bareback. Like to back up, I move my body just as if I was to push a stool out from underneath my butt. I also use these cues when I show because it makes my horses look more "polished".

When training this, always keep safety a first. I am almost reluctant to write about this because I do not want people to get overly ambitious. If you feel uncomfortable, take it a step back and in each step are baby steps, so maybe even go back a few baby steps. If your horse is not ready, wait until they are. Keep working in the bridle so make them more responsive. If you have a horse that bolts with you or bucks, do not go in this direction yet! You have other training issues to work through still. (Bucking horses can be a chiropractic and/or dentist problems so be sure to check that out).

You may find that once you have enough training on your horse to be able to ride him bridleless at all gaits and do lateral movements, that you need to "teach" others how to ride your horse since they know your cues so well, they are almost over trained. If this is a show horse, you will look amazing in the show ring though! Especially in western pleasure classes because you can have the lovely drape in your rein and still look in control. Reiners also do well with this, but you almost need to be able to ride a reining horse perfectly without using reins anyways.

Now that I can ride bridleless, I use it as a training tool, just something fun to do on a relaxing day and a cool down. If he is acting restricted or behind the bit, going bridleless often loosens him up, solving our problem.

Some riders/trainers look down on bridleless riding, saying that many times people are riding their horses out of frame when they are bridleless, heads up, backs hollow.... I do not believe that is always true. With the right training a horse can move nicely without the bridle. I have a leg cue for my horses to raise their backs and hold their heads and neck level, along with doing long and low stretching. I do not do any of the high headed neck arching dressage stuff though. I have however jumped bridleless and worked through ground poles and trail obstacles.

Well, there is much more I could say about bridleless riding but this post looks like it is getting a little long. I was also considering a post on how to use bridleless riding as a training technique.
If there was something I missed, or you would like addressed or if you would like to tell me I have something wrong with my bridleless training please leave a comment. Asking questions helps us learn, not only you but me too, because often times people bring up aspects that I have never considered before, this helps me to be more aware of things. I will either answer your question as another comment, or if it is broad enough, write another post on it.

Thanks everyone, I sure hope you learned something from this post!

Learn more about becoming a better rider by reading my "Be a Better Rider Tips".

Blogging

2009-06-30T16:51:00.003-05:00

Well, I blog in the fall, winter and early spring...but I try to put a few posts on here throughout the summer too. I could not beleive I had not done once since April!!

I was thinking out a post on bridleless riding, but I have not been able to put it out in words on my blog yet. Hopefully I will be able to get it on here by the end of the summer!

Thanks for reading my blog!

Design

2009-04-20T12:02:00.007-05:00

I like to mess around with designing websites sometimes. I would love to work with a stallion owner, setting up a website and promoting him...maybe someday, I just do not know anyone who needs it right now. I also do photo editing and whatever else.

Webpage Design

Here is what I have done so far:
I have designed Highland Grove Farm, a website for our farm. It has information about our farm and animals. I have quite a few pictures on it for interested parties to see. I made this website to be really simple and easy to use. It is basic HTML with no CSS style sheet.

I also designed Olson Quarter Horses, for a horse breeder. The website is completed, but I still need to get some more pictures from him of some of the broodmares. I have changed it quite a bit since it first was published on the internet. I added photo slide shows, links to things like his blog, twitter page and facebook page. I also added a links page and changed the layout of the website somewhat. I am really happy with how it has turned out. It looks much better than the original design.

For our farm, I made the website from scratch, for the horse breeder, I started out with a template that used CSS styling, then modified it until I had my desired template then made all the pages from that.

For both of the websites, I used 110mb.com as the website provider; I chose it after hours of research, and trying a few. This one has good up-time ratings and was also a little bit faster than some others and had a lot of bandwidth room. It does not have monthly fees, but you can upgrade for a one time fee to use things like FTP, upgrade to more space and bandwidth, ex cetera. I was a little upset when they added a little link/banner at the bottom of the website saying it is hosted by them, but it is free and you can pay them to take it off.

So, you guys can go and look at them if you like, and maybe give me your opinions. Lately I have been itching to build some more websites, but I am not sure who needs them. I have also got creative with other forms of design, such as the link to my website images, making business cards and messing with photos so that they could be used for advertising, like in a magazine or on the web.

*Added 12/29/09*

Blog Design

All Around Horses (my blog/website)
I decided I was not happy with the templates for blogs out there, even the ones on external websites that you can upload to blogger. I have tried wordpress.com and I do not like it. I have not tried wordpress.org but I may someday if my blog gets big enough for it to be worthwhile. The reason I finally changed my blog was because I was really unhappy with the loading speed of the template I had before this. I liked it otherwise.
Anyways, I read up on modifying blogger's templates, specifically minima. It is the easiest to modify. I made it 3 column, made it wider, made a new header (instead of just an image), added a navigation bar with links below my header, added a navigation menu by the "labels" I put on the articles and posts I write. I changed some of the stuff around on the sidebar, made an image to link to the facebook fan page. I also made the text bigger because I did not like how blogger had it. It was just too small, and looked awkward in my opinion.

Not Quite a Hobby Farm
I made a background and chagned some of the elements and post width ect. I am really happy with how it turned out.

Olson Quarter Horse's blog
I also changed this a little bit, but not to the degree that I did my own. I kind of used it as a "practice blog" in a way, I did some of the similar changes there before I got the courage to change my own. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I made the background a little bit different and I am not sure if I am 100% happy, but it is still cute.

For doing the blog editing, I was glad to find some great websites that had tutorials and information on how to edit the HTML code of the blog. They were:
Adori Graphics
Olive Tree Graphic Design
The Cutest Blog on the Block

I have thought about writing up tutorials on some of the things I have done on my blog, but this is an equestrian blog, not a design blog, so this is all for now. The websites mentioned above have great resources anyways and for now I think I will leave it to them.

Twitter Backgrounds
I have made a few twitter backgrounds for me and Olson Quarter Horses too. They are nothing too exciting, they may switch around every once in a while when I come up with a new and great idea and have some extra time on my hands :).

If you have any opinions on what you like, don’t like or whatever I would love to hear them! Just leave a comment!

The minis are for sale...

2009-04-16T14:06:00.026-05:00

Unfortunately, I am selling my last two miniature horses, so I figured I would give them a post in my blog...

Nugit

I have had Nugit for almost 6 years now. He is such a sweety, I taught him to drive and have shown him in it and whatnot. I had a half sister I also trained to drive, but someone gave us an offer for her a few years back and we let her go as a broodmare. We keep in contact with the lady who bought her, and now she is going to start driving again! Nugit, actually Candy's M&M Nugit according to AMHR, loves his job. For more information and photos--I did not feel ike putting them all on here, click here.

Buttercup

Buttercup is a sweetheart too! She is a little tall at 35.5 inches, but makes up for her height in her personality and color! I am told there are not many palomino miniature horses out there...she is pretty light in the photo, but that was after a whole summer out in the sun. Buttercup is just turning 4 this spring and has a lot of potential ahead of her, even if it would be just a broodmare to pass on that palomino color. For more information, click here.

Like I said, I just thought I would do a special blog for them, since I am putting them up for sale this spring...I sure hope I am able to find really good homes for them!

Video of Nugit

All Around Horses

Thanks & Wedding Update

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AQHA World Show

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Horse Crazy

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Leg Cues for Riding Your Horse

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Achieving a Slow Western Pleasure Jog and Lope

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I love it!

Highlights of America's HQRSE

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Staying Warm This Winter?

16 below!

Logos: What do you think?

AQHA Added Dressage

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Be a Better Rider Tip of the Day: Just Relax

Treat Your Horse for Christmas

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APHA 2009 World Show

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Horse and Rider Magazine Price Increase?

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