Buddy. 8/1/14

/1/14
He was pretty fresh coming out of the stall, but a
Little ground work brought him back to earth. I can't emphasize that enough, groundwork must be done every day on a young horse. The ride itself, was pretty uneventful.  We worked on turning into the fence, which forces him to get out of his own way and work his front end over.  He still fight against the bit just a little, but lots and lots and lots of wet Saddleblankets will take care that. Rode in the pasture, worked on getting him to follow his nose without pushing his shoulders out.

Buddy 7/26/14

Didn't do a lot of groundwork today, but I did enough that I could tell where his head was. The ride today, consisted of getting him to follow a feel and follow his nose without resistance.  We also did what old-timer just called doubling. Which isn't nothing more than turning into the Fence, which forces him to walk his front over   He did really well, so we went rode in the pasture.  He had trouble staying straight, but after a bit did really well.

Buddy 7/25/14

After four days off and four days in the stall during the day,, Buddy was plenty plenty froggy when we come out this evening.  After he burned off some energy loping circles around me, I did a little groundwork with sticking a string just to see where his head was.  He picked up like we had never missed a day, his energy is just really high. We put the bit in and I worked on the ground just a little, and then I stepped aboard. He acted like we had been doing this forever. We turned some circles just working on following that feel with his nose. He's much better going to the left, while not following real well to the right. He was pushing his shoulder out, but that'll improve with time.

After about an hour, he was pretty wore down and was handling a lot better.  So I swallowed that big lump that was in my throat, leaned over and pushed the gate open.  We both were probably a little bit nervous, but him being a little tired made me feel better.  We walked around outside, I turned him both directions, just getting a feel for him following his nose. We stopped a couple times, and stepped off. End of the day, it was a good day.

Buddy 7/20/14

Buddy did really well today. He pushed and fought little bit, more like a resistance not really a push. We continue to work on following a feel. He stronger going to left than he is the right.   I turn him around barrels just so that he has a job to do while we're in the round pen. Of course all of this started out on the ground doing groundwork, seeing were his Head is. For the filming I let  him stand and rest for a little bit, so when we started filming. He was a little lethargic. 

Buddy 7/19/14

Started out with groundwork, Buddy did really well. Rode and worked on giving to a feel to the left to the right. Worked on breaking at the pole just a little bit. All in all, doing really well. About where I was expecting to be. Some things he does well some things he doesn't. Starting to get a bad sunburn on his shoulders.  Going to prepare to start putting him in the stall during the day

Buddy 7/18/14

7/18/14

Didn't ride today. Worked on getting a soft feel and driving.  He is doing really really well, tends to resist on the right little. It's very important to work both sides of the horse the same, but if you have one side that is weaker than the other then it is smart to work that side more often.  Noticed his shoulders are starting to get a little Sunburnt, put sunblock on them today

Buddy - 7/13/14

Finally through all of this extracurricular stuff, so hopefully (weather allowing) we will have some consistent rides going forward.  The volleyball is still there, but only through the end of July.

Ground work first…did we answer all the questions he was asking?  Horses are a living, breathing, thinking animal, so you never know where they will be mentally; know where their heads are with the ground work.  Work the horse that shows up that day.

Once I was sure of his mental state, we moved on to working on driving.  I want to re-enforce some of the good things we did last time.  He was really following a feel pretty good the last time, so that was a good place to start.  He picked back up about where I thought he would, meaning he pulled against the bit a little and eventually started remembering what he learned last time.  Was he sharp and crisp like a reining horse, no.  Not even close, but he was better that he was the last time.  That’s all you can really ask of a horse, are they better this time than last time?

We worked turning both directs, stopping and backing; and I think he is doing well.  Tomorrow, if I don’t get rained out, we’ll transfer some of what he has learned into the saddle.

Buddy - 7/10/14

Between VBS and my daughters volleyball, have not had much of an opportunity to work Buddy this week. But today the horse shoer came (ponies were due for a trim), so once we were done I took the opportunity to work him.

We did the normal ground work and I spent a lot of time working on forward motion. I don't like him freezing up at any point in the work.  He’s a young horse, so there are lots of opportunities for him to do that.  The key is to recognize when it is about to happen and slow down what you are doing to give him a chance to work through it.

But today was mostly about driving.  To me driving really asks a colt to think, because he has to follow a feel and react to me from a totally different spot.  Like any young horse, Buddy struggled with this a little, pulling and fighting the bit.  But with a little patience and practice he came around and started following the pressure I was applying.  We even backed up a step or two, so I was really pleased.

He did really well and is about where I would expect a young horse to be at about a weeks’ worth of riding, so he’s a little ahead of schedule.

Buddy - 7/6/14

Worked Buddy on the ground first.  Always do this first on a young horse, especially within the first 30 rides.  You need to know where his head is.  So much can affect the way they will react to things.  Things like, is the wind blowing...your horse will be twitchier, more on guard.  This is not a big deal, just means that natural instinct to flight is higher.  Horses are watchful, they notice a predator sneaking up on the by grass movement and many other things.  When the wind is blowing, all the grass is moving.  So they will be more watchful.

I worked Buddy on the ground, with the saddle on.  We did all of the basic groundwork and I answered these questions before I moved on to the next step:

Can I flick my stick and string all over him?
Yes, solid.  Not much bothering him here.

Will he yeild that hind end?
Yes, not as sharp as I would like.  But he will get sharper as we go.

Will he move sideways, both directions?
again, yes.  Not as sharp as I would like. But he will get sharper as we go.

Can I get him out of my space?
again, yes. Not as sharp as I would like. But he will get sharper as we go.

If you answer these questions daily, then you can insure that your time will be productive.

So once we were complete with the questions, I went ahead and did all of the pre-ride checks for a young horse.  Bounced around to make sure he would accept me having to hop to get on.  Stood in one stirrup, both sides.  All went well so I stepped aboard.

Today I attempted a lot more steering that I did before.  He, of course, was somewhat resistant to the idea.  But the ground work came into play and he at least had somewhat of an idea what I wanted.  I put two barrels up just to give us a target to get around.  He did ok.

 

As you can tell from me in the videos, the temptation is going to be to go to fast.  Buddy is a curious and willing horse, but there were times that I asked for things to fast and with too much pressure.  The key is to take the time it takes now, so it doesn't take so long in the future.

 

Buddy - 7/5/14

I went down early this morning to mess with Buddy a little, since someone was coming today to take a look at him.  I did not plan on getting on him.

I have saddled Buddy two other times and he is solid as a rock, so I generally saddle him over by the tack shed.  Again, the groundwork has led him to be a pretty calm solid gelding.

I did all of the basic things I did yesterday to start with.  I want to make sure there are no holes in what we are doing today.  A horse is a living, breathing, thinking animal...what he sees on a daily basis can change how he reacts to stimuli.  So, no holes means...where is his attitude / brain today.

Everything went as expected and he was pretty solid on the ground.  So I leaned on the stirrups a little, bounced around him and jumped toward and into him.  I want him to be ready for anything.

He did really well, so I thought "I'll just step into one stirrup".  He never flinched.  So I stood in one stirrup, and laid across the saddle, on both sides several times.  He did really well.

I next thought, "this is going good, I think I'll just swing a leg over".  Again, he just stood there like I had been doing this forever.  So I asked him to move out a little.  I didn't try to direct him, i just wanted him to get a feel for me on his back.  He was hesitant (which is to be expected), but eventually stepped out and did fine.  I even asked for a give or two.

Later when the buyer (Krystal) came, I basically did most of this over again.  Except I did ask him to give me some lateral flexion, which I didn't do earlier.  I think he really did well.

Upshot is, Krystal bought him and I agreed to put 30 rides on him.  He's going to be fun and I think she will enjoy the journey with him.

Buddy - 7/4/14

It's been almost a year since I messed with Buddy, and since someone is coming to look at him...I thought it would be a good idea to see what he remembered.

I basically ran him through some of his groundwork.

flicked the rope all over him...check
yielding his rear end....check
moving sideways...check
backing away (gettin' outa my space)...check

He was really going good, calm and easy.  So I thought I would bounce up and down all around him.  He's tall and we are going to have to be able to hop to get on (at least I will).  With all of the jumping and falling against him, he never bobbled.

So I went ahead and laid across his back, he never blinked.  In total I probably spent about an hour messing around on the ground with him.  He is a testament to what good groundwork can do and how long a horse retains it.