Mustang update!
We’d probably be considered behind on our training in some ways but I’ve been super happy with this guy’s progress. In our first week I’ve been encouraging him to face up to me, yield his hindquarters and follow me, let me approach me, and have him reach out and touch my hand. This horse seems to have a great brain and has steadily progressed with each session, which is very cool to see! Today was the first day that we worked on him allowing me to touch him with the lunge whip, and he figured it out very quickly. I think he’s very close to letting me get a lead rope on him, and then we’ll continue to work on more extensive groundwork/halter breaking.
I’m so excited about this horse’s quiet demeanor and willingness, as he truly shows up to work every day and tries very hard to do what I ask, even when he’s uncertain.
While dragging a barrel not might not seem like a terribly difficult feat, for this horse in particular it’s a pretty big accomplishment! It took some time to get Jo comfortable with all the small parts of this, such as the rope, the barrel itself, the barrel moving, the barrel moving towards her, as well as the weight of the barrel on the saddle horn. But we focused on all of these small parts individually before putting them all together, and by that time Jo was very confident. If my sister ends up making her into a rope horse I’ll for sure be taking some credit for my small part in her training 😂
I guess this is the horse version of a fidget spinner? 😂
Riker had mixed emotions about Christmas dachshund but ultimately chose violence
Tex proudly demonstrating how adorable he’d look under someone’s Christmas tree! 🎄
Tex proudly demonstrating how adorable he’d look under someone’s Christmas tree! 🎄
Introducing one of our new training horses, Jo! Aka Jojo, Jolene and my personal favorite, Joella 🐓
Jo is owned by my sister Mary Rose Sawicki and was sent to me to get some more consistent training. Due to me not having an infant, I have a bit more time on my hands than my sister! I’m already very impressed with how far Jo has come in just 10 days, and we’re excited to see how she continues to progress. She’s more of the sensitive and feely type, but has already become much more relaxed and trusting. I quickly found the way to her heart is wither scratches and she will pretty much do anything you ask if you bribe her with the right scratches.
Stay tuned for progress reports and baby proofing videos!
Rhett
I can’t believe nobody has snatched this guy up yet but I’m not complaining about having the opportunity to continue bringing him along! Rhett and I have been working on getting his body softer, as well as some collection and lateral movements.
Stella and Rhett
Stella and Rhett are the bestest of friends and probably the most iconic couple since Ross and Rachel
Oh Jonathan 😂 Unfortunately yes…
We are once again so grateful to find amazing homes for our sale horses! Tommy will be off to Michigan to start his career in dressage, but will spend another month with us first to fine tune his under saddle work and get out on some field trips! We are so excited to continue his education here and see how he progresses 😊
Tommy has quickly become the class clown in the barn! 😂
While she was a joy to have in the barn, we are super excited to announce that Nadia has found her forever home in Michigan! ❤️
While she was a joy to have in the barn, we are super excited to announce that Nadia has found her forever home in Michigan! ❤️
Of all the horses I’ve sold I don’t think I’ve witnessed a potential buyer smile as much Jeni when she rode Nadia for the first time. It was obvious they were a perfect match and developed a partnership instantly. Nadia deserves all the best, and she seems to have hit the jackpot of homes!
Congratulations to Jeni on her purchase of this very special mare!
Tex gave the newest obstacle a 5/10 since it wasn’t edible (which he did have to verify for his own peace of mind)
Tex gave the newest obstacle a 5/10 since it wasn’t edible (which he did have to verify for his own peace of mind)
Asked our horses to rate the newest obstacle….Stella gives it a 2/10 due to it not being tall enough for gigantic warmblood yearlings
Asked our horses to rate the newest obstacle….Stella gives it a 2/10 due to it not being tall enough for gigantic warmblood yearlings
Nadia and I both had a wonderful experience at Go Big Eventing’s Ride a Test event last week! We scored a 70% on the first test and a 74.5% on the second. The judge’s remark of “what a lovely mare!” summarized Nadia’s willing attitude and complete desire to please her rider.
I owe a huge thanks to Nadia’s owner Anna Weimer for allowing me the opportunity to work with and enjoy this very special horse. And big shoutout to my friend Tonya McKinney who encouraged us to participate and for all her support in getting me out of my comfort zone and into the white dressage pants. I’m so grateful to have the most amazing clients and friends who help me grow, learn and expand my skills.
“You need to do less, sooner. You’re always doing too much, late.” - Tom Dorrance
As the name of our business implies, we always start at the very beginning with each horse we have in our program. In addition to that, one of our core principles is to “do less” if the horse is struggling with something. Rather than force a horse through something they’re anxious about, we break it down into smaller steps to build their confidence and understanding.
A great example of this that came up this week was with Foolish. This mare is very kind and tries so hard to do the right thing, but carries some anxiety and can be sensitive off your leg, or even just the fenders. I attempted to work on an exercise that includes both sensitizing and desensitizing with the fenders, but she got a bit overwhelmed. As you can see in the video, we went right back to desensitizing only, which helped her relax. We eventually returned to the same exercise when she was better able to understand what was asked of her. This mare has made amazing progress over the last few weeks, and I believe a huge part of that has been us doing less and breaking things down into smaller steps.
Nadia and I have been working on walk to canter transitions and while we still have some work to do, I’m just so excited about how much she’s progressed. We’ve also started working on a little turn around! While we’re probably not going to win all the reining competitions 😂 we think it’s important for all horses to be able to willingly move their shoulders around. This allows us to have more control over their body and eventually start working on more advanced maneuvers.
We love unexpected (and in this case, adorable!) desensitizing opportunities! No animals or trainers were harmed in the making of this video 🤣
I’ve been working Nadia for awhile mostly on a loose rein in order to encourage her to carry herself independently and not rely too much on her rider to maintain her cadence and balance. I’m starting to slowly pick up more contact again, and I’m very happy with how relaxed and rhythmic her canter is. I couldn’t be more pleased with this mare’s attitude and work ethic!
