Houston: 2023 Heart of the Horse Trainers Challenge

16/05/2023

Unfortunately Houston is scratched from the competition. He will be returning to the rescue for further diagnostics and rehab. We think there is an issue with his back leg that has waxed and waned with lameness since January, but I'll definitely be keeping in touch to see how he does with everything ❤️ thank you everyone for the support, I will miss the big goof

14/05/2023

To vote for Houston, find our Pic on this album & like it! Once you've done that, comment here & let me know😊

07/05/2023

10 minutes of me babbling about Houston for his last check in



Let me know if you have any questions

04/05/2023

Houston with one of his admirers

04/05/2023

Houston eating up the attention of Horsemanship 2 kids. He did quite enjoy the pampering!

03/05/2023

Just a couple more weeks left with the dude.

Applications are due by May 7th for adoption through The Safe Horse Project

20/04/2023

An update on Houston❤️

15/04/2023

3 months in! So Houston has been a great dude, and an absolute pleasure to have around. He has blossomed in his confidence and his willingness. And, he's just as cuddly as day 1!

He has gotten to trail ride a little, and jump! He's bold, confident, and excited to jump. We have done a bit of gridwork (more videos to come on that soon) to help him figure out where his feet go and jump accurately.

The focus here lately has been slowing down a bit, and getting a cruise control at a slower speed. If it were up to Houston, well let's just say I think he would have liked being a racehorse too 🌶🌶

He is definitely going to love having his own person, and he will need a confident rider thanks to his age. He is still very moldable but he's headed in the right direction!

He also needs cosequin to maintain his best self. It's made a huge difference with only minor stiffness occasionally noted since starting.

If you are interested in more info, please do let me know! I will be happy to schedule a time you can come see him in mcewen, close to Nashville tennessee!

Note, video is a bit of time working on long and low with the boy. It's a great exercise to help develop his top line, as when we were jumping he inverted his frame and did not want to carry himself quite right. With time working long and low, we should be able to come back to the fun stuff with better posture and balance!

https://youtu.be/0_D6mtD7UQM

10/04/2023

It's been silence here thanks to me getting sick, but we're back at it. Last night we had a great ride, and today I snuck in a quick first ride into the unknown before starting lessons. Also this was the first ride with just the halter and no saddle since we had a round pen, so that was exciting and felt new to the boy.

I do really like Houston. He's an athlete through and through and is going to make someone a really nice sport horse if we can keep that back leg under control. He did show a bit of stiffness on his back right side last night and today after the week off, but I'm optimistic that will work itself out with getting back to it.

25/03/2023

Sometimes I have to wonder about my own sense of self preservation as I climb aboard a green broke 1000 lb baby thoroughbred while the storm of the week rolls into middle Tennessee.

I hate storms, Houston didn't seem to mind too much.

22/03/2023

It's hard not to love this guy

Houston: 2023 Heart of the Horse Trainers Challenge

Mr Houston is a farm favorite here at Something Wild. I'm gonna miss him when he goes in May but he is definitely soaking up the love now! ❤️

12/03/2023

A moment of brilliance, as I call it, is cause for celebration.

The good news is, Houston is feeling a lot better with the cosequin. The bad news is, he's feeling A LOT better. His whole outlook on work has changed for the positive and now he's gone from sticky feet to happy feet. He did great giving to the bit here so I immediately went for the walk transition and gave him the buckle to say thank you, as this moment took long enough to get to tonight 😅

But it's all good, we will work thru this and have a really cool athlete on the other side. I can't wait for our monthly update here soon.

02/03/2023

Houston is a joy to have around with a very non- dramatic start to his training sessions.

We have been working on his back legs here lately as swelling has become present, primarily on his back right, each day. He shows stiffness when beginning to ride, but works out of it after a bit and the swelling subsides. We have started him on a cosequin supplement for his joints and I'm in search of a bodywork professional to take a closer look at him. You can tell it still bugs him when working to the right, so we've been taking things slower than I'd ideally like to do, but I'd rather be safe than sorry with him and hopefully we can get it under control a bit more with the help. ❤️

25/02/2023

What do we think of the brown? If nothing else, it's fun to play dress up with this big guy.

24/02/2023

Houston has really come into himself. He's been a blast to ride. We've been focusing on his trot and developing a good rhythm first before trying to stress all the details. We are working our way into a bit more relaxation and suppleness. I'm super pleased with his progress.

Please excuse my lack of helmet, I had not planned to ride lol

16/02/2023

So, I've lost track of how many rides as we have stopped photographing every single one, but I think it's around 15 rides with having gone on vacation?

Anyways, Houston tonight got to do a little ground pole stuff!

Also, check out that little lead change💪 his first simple lead change.

His big baby thoroughbred legs don't always know where they are, so the ground pole exercises are great to help him learn that. Going down the centerline they are set at trot distance and going the other way, they're set to canter on a 20 meter circle. This layout of poles is so versatile with endless exercises I can think of.

14/02/2023

Here's our month update! There's a video included of our first saddling, our first ride ba****ck and bridleless, and where we are now!

Houston has been so so much fun to work with. He is also a barn favorite here at Something Wild Riding School .

Due to a pre planned trip, I missed 12 days with him, but I was able to hop right back on and pick up where we left off, so I have no doubt we can get back on track soon!

I've been so lucky to have a fun horse to work. Here's what we have gotten good at -

Mount and dismount
Downward transitions
Handling legs to put boots
Softening and lowering head
Riding with any saddle or (gentle)headgear

Here's what we're working on
Started lateral movement
Started working on cross ties
Ground tying
New riders
Giving to the bit and softening
Bending
Upwards transitions
Holding up feet quietly

Plans for the next month?
Riding with other horses
Trails?
Obstacles
Ground poles & eventually small jumps(he's only 3-4 yrs old, so I want to develop him physically before adding this!)
And more!

He's got a great temperament, so my goal is to mold him into a good, but forgiving partner. I think our biggest struggles are his lack of confidence in himself. (For example the day he came home, he would NOT walk down into the stall, we had to bring him in through the back as we had not anticipated that and did not have enough space to safely work through that). With time, he will build confidence and be ready to conquer the world!

I look forward to more time with him & I know who ever ends up with this guy is going to be so, so lucky!

12/02/2023

From day one I wanted to make sure Houston was accepting of the process of bridling. Tonight was a true test after more than a week off with how he would feel about it, and he did well! We have a bit (haha get it?) To work on, but overall I'm pleased

12/02/2023

Houston got time off! We had a pre planned trip and just got home this evening, so the first thing we did was go and work with the guy. After some brief groundwork, I hopped on ba****ck and did a little ride! I'm excited to hit the ground running tomorrow with a great training session, I feel great with our ride tonight.

03/02/2023

A little self promotion here!
My name is Melinda and in addition to training horses, I do artwork! I can be reached thru this page or thru my own personal page regarding my art.

If anyone is interested I'm booking for March. If you're wanting to support but not necessarily order, liking commenting and sharing is helpful too!

03/02/2023

Houston didn't mind the cold rain coming in on us nearly as much as I did! I'm not sure I have many horses on the farm I'd trust not to just dump me and run when the wind is blowing freezing rain on them, but this big boy did great.

Weekly update of this great dude.

29/01/2023

I don't know what my camera man or my camera were thinking with this but I found this in my camera roll from last night's ride. Our first time being able to use the whole arena and not just the round pen- not by houstons choice but because Our arena was just built and the fence was still under construction!

28/01/2023

What do we think of the teal?

28/01/2023

Weekly update number 1 (or 2?)

Houston had a couple days off while we waited on shoes and for some minor swelling to resolve that he came in with one evening. We are back in track now, and last night was the last night we will have our round pen in the ring so we spent it doing a pretty easy ride working on transitions both with and without contact.

He's gonna be an awesome horse, I have no doubt. This is around ride number 10.

26/01/2023

Houston looks good in this purple! This is a halter I got in Germany when I was there so it's a little special to me, but I think he wears it well😊

23/01/2023

What do we think of this color on him? What color should we try? 😊

23/01/2023

Houston had the day off last night so I have nothing new yet today, but here's a look back to day 1 when he had his first saddling. He was very apprehensive to move with it, but we got through with minimal drama thanks to preparation, communication, and patience. Once I could see he felt comfortable moving, and could feel he was responsive to my cues, it was time to swing a leg over and ride

22/01/2023

Literally the best cuddle buddy. I think he thinks he is part big dog and would climb in your lap if you let him.

21/01/2023

Houston, Day 5

I remember about half a decade ago when I was learning to start horses from one trainer, and the goal was to, put it bluntly, harass the horse to try to mitigate every possible reaction that horse could have. It worked, we could ride the horses quickly and even do some fun stuff with them within 30 days, but at the cost of breaking a lot of trust and sacrificing a greater connection.

I got so lucky to find myself in Alabama while running away from a hurricane and met the trainers who changed my whole outlook on horsemanship. Rather than repeatedly doing the same things with a horse, trying to create a reaction from them to talk myself out of riding, I learned how to build a connection with the horse, building up from the moment I first put a halter on.

Now, I've had some time on and off thanks to having my daughter and then not having a great place to work horses, but I'm glad Houston has shown me that I still remember some of what I learned on that humble Alabama ranch, and I'm so excited to see what we can do moving forward.

I guess if you've read this far, you're doing better than me. The moral of the story is, I'm grateful for all the different opportunities I've had to learn because they've all given me a smaller picture of the greater thing that is horsemanship.



Something Wild Riding School

20/01/2023

Houston found a friend to share breakfast with 🥺

(Houston is in the background not the foreground)

I've been asked a few times if there's anything we can use for support and we would love sponsorships for his care and equipment. As he is bigger than most of our horses, most of my stuff won't fit him 😅

Anything bought for him will go with him when he's adopted. I will link the wishlist in the comments of this post.

After everything he's been through he deserves the best shot at life and that's what the safe horse project is all about.

Financial sponsorships can go towards the farm via v-mo at Somethingwildriding. Just note that it's for him & it will go directly towards his care and training.

I am super grateful to anyone who will share this post or any of his info😊

20/01/2023

When you find a good pony to hug 🥺

My daughter has fallen in love with Houston too, and gave him breakfast this morning in exchange for a place to sit.

20/01/2023

Clear concise communication will go a long way to have a happy horsey. Watch for his riders shift in her seat with the soft pressure & his response to slow down.

Houston taught a lesson today where him and his rider worked on a smooth trot to walk transition with lightness in the face.

They did great together!

This is his 4th day from being only halterbroke, setting up the foundation for being a willing, forgiving, fun mount for anyone.

19/01/2023

Houston met a friend on this windy day and helped her with her walk trot transitions 😊

He's such a sweet, smart guy and behaved himself like a total gentleman even with the crazy wind today!

19/01/2023

45 mph wind gusts were blowing in, and there was me, finishing out Houstons 3rd training session with a little ba****ck ride.

It's crazy to think that on Monday, he was only halter broke!

18/01/2023

here at Something Wild Riding School ❤️

Our horses love visitors small and tall. Here's Houston: 2023 Heart of the Horse Trainers Challenge with one of his newest, smallest admirers.