Erickson Acres

10/02/2024

Apollo has been a great horse to work with, I will greatly miss him at my barn. He is a try-harder. Anything I ask of him, he will try. After letting him think on what he has been working on, he will come back and do it; getting better every time he does it. He is a bit lazy, I like to carry a whip but he doesn’t like it on his left side- my daughter can carry it on his right side. (I’m left handed and my daughter is right handed) If he is unsure of something he will stop and look at it. I have not had him run or spin when he is scared, he plants all 4 feet, stares at the thing, arches his neck after processing, then takes a step towards it.

I would suggest an intermediate with a trainer. As I said before, Apollo is lazy so having a knowledgeable person on his back and on the ground would benefit his progress the most.

What I’ve seen in him that will require thought about him:
-He is still very much the boss gelding and will take after other horses, his go-to is to bite the other horses’ backs.
-Since getting him comfortable, I have gotten his personality to come out. There was some trauma in his past. With working him for 5 weeks and having no bad behavior, he has recently been cow-kicked only on his left side 2 times with no provocation. I was walking past him to put a bridle on the wall as I turned and he caught me, fast. My daughter went to put something by him about a week later and he did the same. Both times we were talking to him to make sure he knew where we were. I did all the previous work (see week 2 video - posted August 26) with his hind legs and he never kicked out. This is a newer behavior.

What I LOVE about him.
-He saddles from both sides
-He has a soft mouth
-Respects and moves off the legs
-Try-harder
-The trust I’ve gained
-The confidence he has gained
-Bridles easily
-He is the same horse on Monday (having time off doesn’t affect his behavior)
-He loves his baths especially when it's hot.
-He loved playing in the river
-Aware of his surroundings
-Knows where his feet are
-Has become easier to catch (I had to use a bucket of grain until this last 2 weeks)
-Kind eyes
-Stalls great
-Quiet in the trailer
-Cross ties and straight ties
-Curious
-Stops when “scared”
-He thinks
-Lunges GREAT (working on canter but that is coming)
-Knows WHOA

He is a great package as a horse, and will make an amazing partner.
(I am working on videos from weeks 4-8. —I’ve been busy)

10/01/2024

Battle of the best training competition
Order of go for 10/3/2024

09/17/2024

09/09/2024

Apollo
6 year old Dutch Harness Horse
15.1 hands

Herd placement: Apollo is very dominant. He will need to have a horse put him in his place in the pecking order. He will chase underlings relentlessly.

Temperament: 4/10 he is usually pretty calm but will have his moments of panic. When he does panic (I’ve seen 3 times) 1. he did a quick kick then moved away. He didn’t continue to kick. And this has only happened once. I have worked him through what we were working on and he hasn’t even threatened it again. 2. He bolted forward 2-3 steps. As of now the only thing that makes him “scared” is a white half pad. I don't know if he was attacked by a sheep. But I continue to work with him on that and it gets better every time. 3. His go to “spook” is that he will side steps away quickly, one step.

Since picking up Apollo on September 1, I have been doing a lot of groundwork. He lunges and we have worked on walking through obstacles. I have taken him slower to make sure he is having a good experience and he is learning to trust humans. Apollo picks up all 4 feet easily, I have trimmed his front feet and am working on getting him to hold his back feet longer so they can be trimmed. He likes to SLAM them down as soon as I’m done cleaning them.
He cross-ties and can be left alone without any fit. He is slow to load into the trailer as he is process loading. He does not fight to go in, just slow and cautious. Our latest adventure brought us to the local park that has a river crossing, Apollo walked right in. He wants to please me so much!

We are assuming Apollo was trained to drive based on his breed - I haven’t looked into working with him on driving yet. I wanted to give him new things to learn and not bring up potentially bad memories. We are trying to get him to canter, I can get a few strides then he will hit the end of the lunge line and stop. If you say Whoa he will stop and stand Immediately.

Apollo has been saddled and has sat on. He is good with mounting. I have not asked him to move with a rider yet.

Right now, he needs a quiet confident person. His twitchy reaction could make a nervous rider more nervous and in turn make him nervous. He needs a patient person, he takes a minute to process what I’ve asked him to do and if I give him a moment to think he usually quickly accepts what I ask. His processing time continues to shorten as I gain his trust. He will follow a bucket of grain anywhere so I use that a lot when introducing new things, he won't eat from my hand which I’m ok with. As time goes on and he learns to trust humans, I think he will make a great horse for a beginner.

I think Apollo will make a great riding horse. He is a try-harder soul who WANTS to please. I ride English, with his gorgeous knee action and easy extensions; I think he would be suited for dressage. He loves obstacles so trail or competitive obstacle courses - he lifts his feet and avoids hitting ground rails. He enjoyed his outing to the river; with more riding experience I think he could make a confident trail horse.

I look forward to riding him over the next month and preparing for his next forever home. I will miss him so much. He is so fun to work with and he loves his cuddles.

see comments for videos and photos

K&K Horses

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08/26/2024

08/26/2024

Week 3 part 2

08/26/2024

Week 3 has been very productive. I had to do this weeks video in 2 parts Part 1

08/21/2024

Apollo finding his legs.

08/14/2024

Apollo has been on a rollercoaster since last Thursday. He was on his best behavior week 1. Week 2 he isn’t liking being pushed. He loved the cushy life of eating hay and grain. Being brushed. And all the love (just to make it easier to catch)
Update and video to come.

Nice roll after his first bath. He flipped 5 times.

08/07/2024

Well Apollo learned he LOVES his fly mask!! He rubbed it off and quickly found out WHY I "tortured" him with such a contraption. He also rubbed off his halter in the process and he is a difficult horse to catch. With Allen's help and pan of grain he was caught quicker than I had expected. I put on his halter and fly mask and the look of relief was immediate.

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08/07/2024

Thank you for Sponsoring Apollo during the BBTC!
*Tammy and Desi - Bag of grain
*Jen White Pine Land Management- Monetary donation
* Krista Swanson-SimpleWonderArts.com -sales photo
*Denyse - deezynesByDenyse- monetary donation
*Double Good 4-H Club- monetary donation
*John & April Thomas - monetary donation

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08/06/2024

~Interested in learning how you can support team ~Please read below!!
Greetings Friends, Family and Animal lovers;
I am honored to have been selected as one of 11 trainers to be part of Battle of the Best- Training Challenge and to partner with K&K Horses of Isanti, MN. K&K Horses, rescues and rehabilitates horses, this is the first annual Battle of the Best- Training Challenge they are sponsoring. On August 1, the trainers were introduced to each other and presented the horses to be selected. My selected horse is Apollo, a 6 year old Dutch Harness Horse from Michigan.
For the next 60 days, I will be working hard with Apollo, moving him from a rescue horse with timid tendencies - towards reaching his potential and moving into his forever home. While in the Battle of the Best Training Competition -BBTC- (Aug 1- Oct 3), each of the horses’ care and maintenance are the trainer’s responsibility to ensure they are successful during this time.
I'm devoting my time and training knowledge to support Apollo at this time in his life, fully aware compensation becomes available if Apollo finds a forever home during the silent auction on October 3rd or within six months after the challenge. For me, participating in trainer challenges isn’t about winning or the money involved. It's about seeing Apollo become confident, happy, loved, excelling in his training and find his forever home.
To help with Apollo’s expenses, I'm reaching out to you as friends, family, and animal lovers interested in financially supporting Apollo on this journey. Below is a “needs-list” to support Apollo with items he will need over the next 60 days. These are some important items that would be greatly appreciated:

Purina Ultium Growth (2-3 @$30 per bag),
Hay ($175 for his stay),
1-2 hoof trim ($50 each),
Bronco Fly Spray ($25/gallon)
Stall Shavings (30 @$6/bag),
Trophy Rock - Salt Lick ($15).

Apollo’s wish list:
Carrots
Peppermints
Fly mask (size Arabian)

I can accept Venmo, Facebook payment, or if you prefer, you can mail a check and let me know how you'd like your donation to be used. I'll be happy to purchase any items for you from a local business. Please private message me for my address.
As a thank you, all donors will be recognized on Apollo’s updates ( ) and included on the sponsor poster which will be displayed at the evaluation and auction on October 3 at 6pm at the Isanti County Fairgrounds. Any remaining donated items, will be sent to Apollo’s new family after the challenge and any money will be donated to support other rescue horses at K&K Horses.
Thank you in advance for any denomination of donations and all shares of this post with others. Your support is greatly appreciated on behalf of Apollo. We are truly grateful for every bit of help you provide.
Follow us on Facebook and you are welcome to see us Oct 3rd.
~ Love ~
Apollo and Sarah

08/02/2024

Battle of the best trainer challenge
We picked our horses today I got a 6 year old Dutch harness horse named Apollo.

07/29/2024