The REAL reason for coming to Kentucky!
There are cows in Kentucky!
Great day yesterday moving cattle in Kentucky! First time Oscar has seen a cow since we moved to Maryland. Could of swore I heard him humming an old Stephen Foster song.
The final clinic of our Fall Series will feature an Introduction to Working Equitation. We'll have our Ease of Handling course set up at AOPF Stables and it will provide a great opportunity to use all of the things we've been working on, even if you aren't interested in WE. The clinic runs from Noon to 2:00 but the course will be available for practice and play all afternoon.
2nd lesson. Trail riding in the woods! A few minutes on uneven terrain improves the balance more than hours in the arena. Look Mom, no hands!
WE (pun intended) had a great day of Ease of Handling practice at our Working Equitation clinic yesterday at AOPF Stables. Thanks to everyone who came out to play!
This video is a little long but it shows a customer and her horse at the beginning, middle and end of single trailer loading lesson where I worked with her and the horse between these clips. The end speaks for itself if you watch the whole thing. I'll be doing a Mini-clinic on loading tomorrow at AOPF Stables. Look under the "Events" tab for details or contact me directly.
I will be working with 3 horses on trailer loading at AOPF Stables today starting around noon. I think seeing the process really helps with understanding the idea of "getting a horse to want to do something" rather than "making a horse feel like it has to do something. We will be working in the trailer parking lot at AOPF if anyone wants to come out to watch. You might find it interesting even if you don't need help with loading.
Florence Germain and Baxter skewing the ring at our recent Working Equitation Play Day at AOPF Stables
Hashbrown's 12th ride
I think the most frequent question I get asked by clients is some version of "How does my horse compare to others?" This can be things like; "Is he smart?", "Easy to train?", "Stubborn?" "Wanting to please?" and so on. I thought it might be interesting to film a couple of 2 year olds I started in May as they are exposed to things for the first time. I posted a trail ride clip of my horse Rio last week and this one is, as near as I could film, is the exact same ride on Hashknife Ike Wood, aka "Hashbrown". This is one day after the video of Rio was filmed. I'd be hard pressed to note any difference except for the Bay head replacing the yellow one?
Starting "Ikes Cowboy Cash"
Still sorting thru all the pictures from the clinic but here is a montage of the first 2 days with "Ikes Cowboy Cash"
Kate Reis first ride on Kohli
This is Kate Reis putting the first ride ever on her sweet Gypsy filly Kohli. The smile at the end says it all. Great job Kate!
Shadow Ride'n
There are a few minutes each morning, and a few more in the afternoon when shadows grow long and you can clearly see your horses movement on the ground. Buckaroo's call it "shadow ride'n" I think it's the cowboy equivalent to having mirrors on your arena walls.
Here's an update on Dutch, the Fresian-Percheron cross I started in October. I posted a pic of his owner having her first ride at the end of November and she sent this video of her 2nd ride on December 8th. He was saddled for the first time on October 5th.
