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06/26/2025

Need hay? The Martinez family in the San Luis Valley has horse hay ready to go! Message me and I'll connect you!

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06/26/2025

Do you need a little-bit-of-Nickle today? Because I sure do!

06/25/2025

I would say that by the end of the week Cady will be offering free hugs! She's just about got it down....
I would also say that within days she will also have this get-closer-for-mounting cue solid!
She is a good girl.
Oh, and she never takes her fly mask off. If she can just tell Nickle to leave his on too????

06/25/2025

Self preservation.

If your horse doesn't have a lot of it, do you really want to ride him?
Soggy/slick arena today and Cady didn't disappoint being careful and taking good care of me. She also has a strong verbal WHOA now with no rein needed!

Why have a whoa like that? If you believe that a bit or force stops a horse you need to re-think that! A horse stops because he wants to. There is a reward in stopping. This isn't a speed horse, it's a pleasure horse whose full-time job is to keep the rider safe!

One other thing about Cady; she is always telling the rider something, if you're listening. She hates flies, but she also has increased tail activity when she is anxious....thinking that the "next" thing might be racing is my guess about her anxiety! Watch her stop, and then watch her tail go still when I reward her STOPPING! She is super bright and responds to anything I say as well as the slightest scratch or pat on the neck.

Well done Cady!

06/25/2025

Most horses hesitate before walking over a tarp, Cady walked over the first time I asked, without hesitation.
Today's tarp had water on it. Same response. She actually wanted to stay and play in the water!
I've found nothing so far that scares or intimidates this horse...NOTHING!

06/24/2025

We're adding some more trotting to our sessions!

The walk needs a TON of work yet but we can add more challenge to Cady's plate; she's ready and it helps keep her interested.

In the walk, there is a lot of wasted motion. The rider can help "organize" the horse by keeping the energy where it's needed: forward!
Same with the trot. Cady's body is all over the place so I take that "twisting and pushing" motion I feel and resist just enough to help her organize her movement....it's already working!
The trot is a little better to post and I don't feel like I'm going to be ejected with every step.

In addition to the arena work, Cady is still doing ground work daily. We're working on moving away from pressure so we can improve her mounting skills and add some lateral saddle work.

Also, we ventured back on the trail course today to make sure Cady's focus and "whoa" are working properly. Everything was good!

06/22/2025

What a difference a day makes!

Cady was back to relaxed and slow today. No signs of yesterday's excess energy and lack of focus.

Her behavior yesterday was not fear-based, I've ruled that out. This is only her second time riding alone today and she could care less that no one else is in the arena with her. In fact, she is probably the bravest TB mare I've ever ridden! She has not spooked at anything, nothing, not once, since arriving! We have squirrels that sit on top of the arena fence posts and she doesn't even look twice when they jump off. Tires, tarps, bridges, a mailbox....NOTHING on the trail course scares her either!

If Cady continues to show such confidence and focus, she will be out on the trail in no time!

As for her energy level, it appears that she does well with two days of saddle work and one day off (groundwork or other activity). That balance seems to fit her strength/fitness level too.
Remember, you can get some level of aerobic fitness in just thirty days, but skeletal fitness takes six months! Pushing a horse too hard, too fast after a prolonged period of inactivity is not conducive to long-term soundness (physical or mental) and increases the chances of injury!

06/21/2025

I caught that rare "everybody-rolls-at-once" moment this morning; the "run-like-maniacs" moment is courtesy of Rose-the-instigator!

06/21/2025

I was really starting to think that Cady would never misbehave or push boundaries, but today she just couldn't contain herself!

The good news is; even when WIRED, she did nothing dangerous.

I did lunge her a few circles before the ride and she was fine, quiet, but she was super forward and BIG under saddle. That's fine too, but when she decided that she could no longer WHOA with my voice and seat I knew that she had excess energy in the way of listening to me and being focused on the work.

I decided just to walk off the energy on the trail course, taking some ground poles and obstacles along the way. But she was just so on-edge and ready to "go" that after several minutes of walking she was still unable to whoa and stand. You'll see me give her multiple chances to stand and she just fidgets and prances. I wait it out, don't punish and look for a chance to reward her for doing something right. FINALLY, I get a 3-second "whoa", reward that, and decide that she really needs to burn off this excess energy on her own with a second round of lunging.

She immediately cantered when free-lunged, something she had never done before, and then trotted for several minutes after that until she looked toward me and said "I'm ready now". I asked her to WHOA and she did. You can actually see that moment at the end of the video.

This was a great lesson for Cady. I am very proud of her for not acting stupid AND, for telling me when she was ready. She also knows now that I will listen to her and not punish her when she is doing the best she can, at that moment.

For me, finding a balance for this mare between feed, work, focus, and lunging/riding has proved to be a challenge! She had a day off yesterday because she is not fit enough to work hard, it's very hot, she recently had shoes removed/boots added, and she was "low energy" during our last few sessions. But today, she showed that she feels good and certainly has the energy to work! I'll be anxious to see her demeanor in our next session!

06/19/2025

OTTB or AQHA western pleasure horse???? 😆

06/19/2025

After a day off from riding, a spa day and a boot-fitting session, we're back at it!

The worn back feet are now in borrowed Renegade boots (thanks Janet) and Cady could not be happier! I've increased the saddle pad thickness as well and together, the two changes made an immediate difference in Cady's comfort.

I know some people wonder why I ride every horse western for schooling, even those that will be ridden English by the owner? I think a trainer needs to ensure exposure to a back cinch and the weight and fit of western tack as it's far easier to go to English from western, than western from English! Take an English horse and saddle him with a back cinch and that doesn't always go well, so exposing young horses of any discipline to western tack is beneficial! Additionally, every horse should neck rein like a western horse. English riders often *think* that they don't need to teach neck reining, but they do. I want any English horse I ride to move off the rein quietly! How can they progress in skills if they don't?

In today's session, Cady worked on moving off rein and leg as well as making her verbal/reinless "whoa" solid. We're not there yet but considering she had no real whoa other than "PULL" when she arrived, she has made substantial progress. I've also slowed things down a bit to allow Cady more time off. She has a huge heart and gives 110% every time. If I don't reward that with what she needs, I just create a sour horse and/or one with physical pain. I don't want either! I want this special mare to stay fresh and willing for the next 20+ years!

I look at this mare and wonder if she was an AQHA western pleasure horse in another life! Seriously, she likes slow, she LOVES dropping her head, she's quiet as a mouse, and WHOA is her favorite gait! In the last third of the video, her walk is just so pretty!

06/18/2025

Spa day for Cady!
She has gained some weight, lost all the creeping crud she had on her legs (thanks Nancy for the medicated spray/shampoo) and is blossoming into a funny, curious, sometimes naughty mare!
Thankfully, the "sweetness" has stuck and if anything, she's even sweeter and more relaxed now, than a week ago!