Kustom Color Equine

04/06/2019

03/19/2019

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

If we could only make this truth fully understood in the horse world, how much time and trouble would horses, buyers, owners and trainers save? Fewer horses would be mishandled, misunderstood and e…

03/14/2019

😂

😬😬😅

03/14/2019

So true!

When you hurry a horse, you usually get to the wrong place faster...

03/01/2019

I’m proud of this little Safara. Everything is starting to click & she’s getting a good feel to her. ❤️

02/27/2019

Who’s hiding under there? 🤣

02/25/2019

Safara has a handful of rides on her now & she’s learning each ride to become softer & understand different pressures. She has her moments where she’s still opinionated but she’s been doing well so far & seems to enjoy having a job.

02/25/2019

Milo’s first time with the surcingle on! He was curious when I was putting it on but he didn’t mind at all! No buck or anything. ☺️ He’s going to make someone a really cool little partner!

02/14/2019

Today, Safara got ponied for the first time around the ranch & on a few short trails before it started raining on us. Lots of snorts & spookies in the first few minutes as she was nervous, but she got over it quickly & seemed to really enjoy being out & about!

02/12/2019

Safara’s first ride went just as I expected! Uneventful & her first steps with a rider, she showed off to us with a nice turn on the hindquarters. She’s like “Look what I can do!” 😉

02/12/2019

Milo: Cold Blooded Killer. RIP Poppy!

02/12/2019

Milo is doing great! He was gelded over the weekend & you can see by his expression what he thought about that. 😂
His ground manners have improved wonderfully & he now leads respectfully, is (usually) easy to catch & is learning how to lunge well- off & on the line. We will continue this work, as well as other groundwork, to lead up to eventually be started under saddle.

02/11/2019

Safara & I have been working on ground driving so that she has her cues down. She will be having her first ride in the next couple days!

02/10/2019

We’ve been working up to this moment for quite a while. Phoenix had had one other experience with a rider being on him & it ended really badly, which ultimately left him quite traumatized about a human climbing aboard. When I first started working with him, he was extremely flighty & if something scared him, his brain turned off & he went into flight mode.
I’ve spent several months doing ground work with him, working on getting him to relax & to think about situations that may be scary rather than just taking off to get away.
My great assistant, Felicity, & I have been working with him for a couple weeks on mounting. He was very, very fearful in the beginning days but every day, we got progress. Yesterday, he was finally relaxed enough to finally seal the deal & get on. It could have gone two ways- he could have thought about it before reacting or he could have gone back to his old ways & gone in panic mode & just took off, trying to get away from the scary human attached to him. Much to our delight, HE CHOOSE TO THINK about it!!!
I was & am so so so sooooo proud of this horse for reacting to this situation in this way. Something we weren’t sure would ever be possible for him in the beginning- now doesn’t seem impossible. This was truly one of those moments that makes me love doing this kind of work- especially with rescue horses who sometimes have a traumatic past. I could have cried out of pure pride over this creature. He is so special. ❤️

02/08/2019

Laggy wanted to ride today! Safara wasn’t too sure about all the monkeying around at first! But after some confidence building exercises, she relaxed & did great!

02/08/2019

❤️❤️❤️

02/06/2019

Who else is kicking up their heels that we have sunshine today?? Milo is enjoying it! It feels sooo wonderful! ☀️

02/01/2019

Today, we welcomed Milo into the KCE family! He’s a 2-3ish year old Spotted Saddle Horse who’s here to learn manners & baby basics- possibly leading up to being started under saddle eventually! I’m excited to start working with this little guy!

02/01/2019

I wanted to get Martini out before the rain started... we had a good session in the arena working on transitions then I took her on the trail to cool her down. I meant for a short loop but ended up finding a trail I didn’t know about & we went down that for a while until the clouds started getting really dark & it started getting windy. I could tell the storm was on it’s way! We rode back on the ranch just as giant, heavy raindrops started pouring down on us & there was a bunch of thunder & lightning.
As we were exploring the new trail we found, I was thinking about how much I appreciate my horse. We’ve rode many miles together together now & I trust her more than any horse to keep me safe. This new trail was quite technical, she really had to place her feet in the right places or things could have gone not so great. I wouldn’t trust to ride many horses on this trail. But this horse I can trust if I ask her to get her hindquarter over more as we are on a narrow trail so we don’t fall into the ravine next to it, she does it. If I need her to stop suddenly to assess our next move, she does it. If I’m ponying a horse that stops suddenly & tries to pull my arm off & I ask Martini to back up NOW, she backs up NOW. She’s not perfect but she really is a good girl who has helped me through a lot of rough times in my life, as well as been a trusty business partner, ponying/babysitting all kinds of horses & not even flinching as they practically jump on top of us because they spook at something. A great, well-broke trail horse is truly worth their weight in gold.

02/01/2019

What Phoenix had to say about working before he finished breakfast! 😛

01/31/2019

Starting the morning with a fancy Arab & a beautiful view! 😍

01/31/2019

Safara has a challenging personality but we grow to understand each other more each day. She should be ready to get on pretty soon!

01/25/2019

Oh Buddy. ❤️

01/25/2019

Lily is growing up! She’s doing well with her arena work so she earned her way to going on her first trail ride today!!

01/23/2019

Safara showing her appreciation for me this morning. 😂

01/23/2019

This week, I’m focusing on getting Phoenix to relax while I hang all over him - before getting on just yet. He can still be flighty but his reactions aren’t as explosive as he used to be. He took to this pretty well today, finally relaxing... his go-to when he’s nervous is head up-full body tension-holding breath. Not the body language I want when he does get mounted for the first time... because that behavior is just screams explosion ready to happen.
I never know how he’s going to be each day & I don’t think putting time frames on training is something that can be done (horses don’t quite work that way)- but I’m hoping to finally have a rider on this boy in the next couple weeks. 🤞🏽
*Don’t mind my mud splattered jeans. 😂 We are still drying out over here from the week of rain & Phoenix decided he was going to give my pants a nice little design.*

01/22/2019

Nolani & I using rain puddles as opportunities. 😁

01/21/2019

Mr. Fancy Pants aka Phoenix. 😍

01/19/2019

What if I was to tell you that this beautiful girl is for sale?! Born 2013, 16hh & BIG b***d, black & white overo, double registered Shire/Paint mare. Has had 1 foal & is green broke. She needs an experienced rider to continue to put miles on her, but I think with time & consistency, she will make someone a steady-eddie kind of mount. She will be sure to always turn heads wherever she goes! She’s a gorgeous mover & would look amazing in the arena, as well as be a stunning trail mount! $7500. Located in Poway, CA.

01/18/2019

Horses are beings, there are some things that you’re never going to be able change! That’s just them, just like you are you.

01/15/2019

The husband doesn’t have to know. 😉🙈😂

01/14/2019

Be safe in this storm we are about to have! & watch out for the elusive hover Lily!

01/14/2019

Buddy says “Gimme a kiss!”

01/10/2019

Safara is still not happy that her parents sent her here. 😂 She is learning how things go here but is often testing her boundaries. She is super intelligent & learns quickly, but she does not like to be told to do something that she doesn’t want to do. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Tough luck, princess. 👑 Overall though, I think once this girl learns things are just easier to do when she’s asked, she’s going to progress quickly!

01/10/2019

Phoenix seemed to have forgotten what “walk” & “ho” meant today 😏. It took us over an hour but he finally was doing both calmly & softly.

01/10/2019

Even though Nolani is a BIG girl, she’s pretty sure the world is out to eat her. So many horse eating objects out there. 😂🤦🏽‍♀️ But she is gaining more confidence! I observed her today, as she was turned out, being brave & approaching something she was scared of & going to touch it willingly. Then, as she was riding around the ranch today, when she was scared of something, she was voluntarily walking up to the object to touch it. The more she does it & realizes things truly won’t hurt her, the more confidence she will build.
Coming in as a 10 year old seemingly not extensively handled broodmare, she has thrown many curveballs while she’s been here. Starting an older horse under saddle is definitely a different experience than the average “baby”. The older horses, I have noticed, can be pretty quirky & more challenging. Not all, but most that I have worked with. In my personal experience, they have been more difficult & more set in their ways. They have had much more time to develop bad habits, be handled a certain way or not be handled much at all, etc, etc. But as for this girl, we keep trucking on with her & I think she will be a great mount as she develops more confidence & experiences more miles & wet blankets. Miles & wet blankets are always a great thing! 😎🐴

01/09/2019

Buddy is still looking for the perfect home to adopt him. He will make such a fun partner for a confident & experienced rider/handler.
Bonus: he is porta-potty broke.

01/09/2019

A tired Lily is a good Lily. 😈

01/05/2019

I’ve been really slacking on pictures & updates this week. 🤦🏽‍♀️ I’ve been dying with this awful virus that’s going around but still working to keep everyone’s training rolling! Thank you to Felicity, who has helped me this week with the horses so I don’t have to do all the work while I’m trying to fight off this sickness!
Now for the updates!

🙈Buddy🙈- He is still looking for a person to call his own! He’s UTD on all care & likes to explore the trails with a confident, experienced rider!

🤡Lily🤡 - Progressing under saddle slowly but I’m not pushing her, as she is not mature in body & especially not in mind. 😂 She will be going home in a couple weeks to be a horse for a while & grow up a bit. Until she leaves, I’m just trying to get her as much exposure to everything as I can!

😍Nolani😍 - She is a little quirky in some ways but she’s progressing every day! She went on trail today & after some initial nervousness, she was in the lead the whole ride! In the arena, she’s learning how to use her body correctly & when she does- oooh she’s breathtaking!

♥️ Phoenix♥️ - updated post below... he’s the only one I remembered to get a pic of today in my foggy sick daze. 🤦🏽‍♀️

👑 Safara 👑 - She is getting used to the routine here, although she’s not too thrilled with being put to work... especially having to listen to a stranger (me!). She says “you’re not my mother.” 😂 We are getting to know each other & I really have a good feeling about this super smart girl’s future!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

01/05/2019

I’ve spent tons of time preparing for this moment with Phoenix. Finally ground driving! He still gets nervous if I get too far behind him, but we will work on it! For now, working on learning how to stop, turn & be soft in the face while doing it all... staying calm & when he does get nervous, coming down easily instead of blowing up & not calming down. He’s gotten much better about his giant reactions but he still has his moments where he gets really flighty. Slowly but surely will win the race! The first ground driving day wasn’t all that pretty but he will get better with each day!