INTRODUCTION:
With Roscoe, the Rescued Quarter Horse trained up and safely delivered to his
new forever family in Wilton,
California it was now our quest
to find another noble equine to work with. Having such success in the past we
started with the local rescue organizations first. We wanted to work with a
gelding between 4 and 15 years of age who was already “broke to ride” and who
had a decent mind and a willing attitude. Because Michael was going to be the
“primary” handler/rider we wanted a horse that could handle his 220 pound
frame. Good legs, a solid frame and good feet were a must. Sadly the local
rescue organization lacked what we were looking for. So we thn moved onto
CraigsList. We wanted to work with a seller who cared about their horse but for
whatever reason could no longer afford the required upkeep or who was
downsizing their stable. We met several horses during our search. Some were
exactly as described by the sellers and some were WAY off! Being followers of
the Downunder Horsemanship Method we always wanted to do ground work first
before getting on the back of an “unknown” horse. We would always dialogue with
the sellers first and let them know what we were looking for and how we
approached new horses. We really wanted to see the horse “fresh” and not
saddled. Some of the folks got that and some folks had their horses saddled up
and ridden before we got there (always a negative sign in our minds).
It finally came down to the top two candidates.
One was a 4 year old Quarter Horse
gelding who had about 90 days of “training” on him. Nicely put together colt
with a charming personality. He was green but willing under saddle and really
needed concentrated training, long rides and wet saddle pads to refine the
handle on him. He was a bit pushy with space and it took some effort to get him
to focus. He would be a long term project that had amazing potential His
sellers were downsizing their project horse herd.
The other was a 13 year old
Appendix Quarter Horse who had a varied and unique history. His family had
followed some of the natural horsemanship principles we followed and the horse,
although almost 200 pounds underweight, was still being worked with and loved
by his family. Financial matters really cramped their feed budget and the
gelding, while being fed, was on a low cost/low calorie feed. Combined with the
small space he was exercised in it was easy to see how he could be thin. He was
easy to work with on the ground and under saddle. He really tried to please and
to “take care” of the person in the saddle. He really seemed to “click” with
Michael and was soon following him around the small pasture. In the end it was
his willingness to bond that put him in the lead.
Three days later AQHA Appendix
Quarter Horse gelding A Bita Lightning
came home to live with us.
Michael, Laurie and “Ole”:
First Meeting/Ride
DAY 0: Christmas
Eve Day 2012 saw us traveling to drop Roscoe off to his amazing new home and
loving family. It was sad to see him go but the family was amazing! They were
so impressed with what the Method had done for Roscoe they became No Worries
Club Members! After a brief stop for lunch we headed up to El Dorado Hills, California
to get “Ole” (Oh-Lee). The gelding saw Michael and nickered to him. Seems that
he remembers the man who brought him carrots! The seller said she had not seen
this horse warm to someone so quickly. It didn’t seem like a sales pitch as we
were already buying the horse.
Some basic groundwork was done to get the gelding ready to
listen, papers signed and then we headed to the trailer. This is always one of
the scariest things to do with a horse…you are asking them to step into a tin
box with only one exit. Well, Ole didn’t disappoint us at all. He followed
Michael into the trailer and then moved his hind quarters out of the way so the
divider in the slant load could be secured. He traveled pretty well all things
considered and settled down nicely. Once we got him home we gave him a quick
brushing, did some ground work to get him settled, put his blanket on (it was
starting to cloud up and rain was coming) and then introduced him to Argent.
There was some sniffing and a squeal or two but soon they were hanging out
calmly and even ate of of the same pile of feed. The rains came and we headed
inside while Ole explored his new digs and Argent showed him around. Christmas
Day was more rain so working outside was out of the question…plus we had a
house full of folks! When the rain backed off some of our guests went out to
see the horses with apple slices in hand. Both Argent and Ole were social and
enjoyed the treat. Michael walked out a little after our guests did and Ole
walked up, nickered a little and accepted rubs and treats from him. Not a bad
first day.
DAY 3: Round Pen
time! Ole came up to the gate and was rewarded with a vigorous brushing of
coat, mane and tale (and some baby carrots) along with the usual maintenance.
The goal today was to simply introduce the concepts of how to communicate using
the round pen. Ole had not seen a round pen for at least six years so who knew
how he would react. Michael led him in and then allowed for some exploration
time to occur. When things felt right they began to establish a direction using
the “point, cluck, spank” method. It became very clear that a simple point with
authority and a cluck was all that Ole needed to get the hint and move his
feet. Then they moved smoothly into maintaining the direction and gait. We hit
some snags on turning in (two eyes not two heels) to change directions and
after one human slip-n-fall in the mud (the horse laughed…really) the body
language was made a bit more expansive and slower and the cue was understood
better. So with the concept of direction changes put forth, it was time to
mellow out and introduce the rope and the stick-n-string as tools to be
respected but not feared. Much soft rope tossing and flogging with kindness
occurred until Ole took a big breath, licked his lips and cocked a hip. Flexing
was introduced as was backing. It was a good session with lots of wins and
starting points established. Then it was time to contemplate the lesson on the
Tree of Knowledge. During this down time we fit Ole’s new bridle to him and adjust
the breast collar on the saddle to fit him better. He then got to stand tied
for 30 minutes or so followed by a mid day snack, a brushing and then released
back out to the pasture. Lots of wins happened. No spooking or over reacting at
all. Nice way to end the day!
Not
sure he liked the muddy footing.
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