I care too much.
Each of our young horses is so unique. Every year, in the springtime, I find myself poring over a spreadsheet of names, each representing a young four-legged friend who's future rests in my management decisions.
Bright Jazzy. Spirited Celebrity. Good funny little Sonnet pony. The yearlings. Sweet sensitive Autumn. Solid, intelligent Liberty. Outgoing Flint. Studly Spartan. And now I have Symphony back because I refused to let her go through the sale yard after her owner lost his job. And there are more.
I'm evaluating where each one stands in their training and maturity level. I am weighing value vs. outcomes for training options.
If I were to be totally honest, I'd tell you that I don't even want to ride much anymore. Oh, I used to want to ride, every single day! I used to get on any horse that might be available.
My dad was a hired hand for some years when I was growing up. So we lived on a ranch in the hills. When I was about 9 years old, some old horse trainer got tired of paying to board his last remaining horse and decided to give it to our family. She wasn't a very big horse, just a little one, purported to be a barrel racer at one time. And we had no saddle. I remember climbing up on the corral boards with treats, cajoling her to put her face into the bridle so I could ride without getting an adult to help me. This never worked well. Someone would have to come help me bridle that head up in the air and help me get on so I could go for a ride. I knew the end result would be me dumped on the ground, retrieving the reins so I could lead her all the way home again. One ride I remember, we headed out a little ways into the grassy pasture and were stepping lightly through a coulee between hills. Some grouse flew up wayyy far ahead of us and BOOM my horse tried to shy out from under me as she always would. I stuck the first maneuver and so she had to try again, and once more even, before I came off. OH! I remember being steaming mad at her. She took a joy in dumping me. I tried and tried to lead her along the side of the hill so I could re-mount, but she wouldn't stand for me to jump back on. And so I collected the silly horse and walked her all the way home.
Then, after my dad got a job in town, we moved directly across from some horse people who had a draft team, a rodeo horse, and a pony. The horses were always out to pasture and seemed nobody rode them at all, between rodeos, or the occasional hay ride in town. My sister and I must have made ourselves quite a nuisance asking to ride any time we saw anybody around the place. We moved again. This time to rent a little farm on the outskirts of a tiny town. We were able to move our goofy little mare and her half QH filly home and began training the filly to ride. Still having no saddle. She was just as silly as her mother and began an annoying rearing habit. I remember someone giving us a library of books on horse training, there was one book titled "How to Correct the Problem Horse". The book was a favorite and I'm sure helped me quite a bit! My sister and I rode the half QH for years, rearing and throwing fits, whatever she was in the mood to do. Sure turned us both into good riders, that much I'll say. We were bareback trick riders up until a friend took that mare home and put her husband on her with a 2x4 in his hand. No kidding. He wacked her over the head with the board whenever she tried to rear. It broke her of the habit in pretty short order. My friend brought home a horse than no longer reared and a saddle for us to borrow until we could afford to get one of our own. About the same time, a generous soul offered for me to come pick out a colt of my own from his group of youngsters. I chose a yearling filly which I took as a 4-H project for two years. She turned into quite a little cow pony. She was grade, TB and QH, I was told, but grew out to only about 14 hands. Never did give up her tendency to want to buck a little, when you first got on. She was always excited to go to work. I remember coming straight home from school to ride, as often as possible.
In my 20's, I raised and trained up my Morgan mare to take over cattle work duties. I thought that way, my husband and I would each have a horse to ride. It turned out he usually preferred to take the 4-wheeler, so I was still mostly on my own on horseback when we moved cattle.
So yes, I used to ride a lot. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, I was ready to get my horse.
Now I seem to get more fun out of working with colts, putting in ground work, and harness training ponies. It satisfies the heart with a good round of horse therapy, but leaving out any stress that can come from getting on for a ride. I just don't stick to the saddle, or bounce back from a tumble, like I used to. Lack of confidence is not a positive element when working with young stock. You can do more harm than good if you are accidentally tipping your horse off that they aught to be a bit nervous.
So you can see why I am once again, carefully contemplating options for my group of young horses. How best shall I set them on a path to a useful, fulfilling horse life? Just like in raising children, as they mature, I need to step back, open my hand, and let them try their wings. Trusting the foundation we have built into each one will hold them true right on into a more advanced trainer's program, or the next home to be graced with their presence. Two of our oldest colts are at the trainer right now. My daughter is waiting to see the outcome before she decides whether to sent her big sweetheart "Sapphire", and I am hoping to send my colt Liberty along if it turns out well with the older colts. We expect good things. I'll be posting an update when we bring home Winchester and Justice, in the next couple of weeks. I'll be sending two of the ponies. Flint is only turning two this summer so I think I'll wait a year to get him started. He is a big colt but I think their minds are more prepared when they get a bit older. Seems like you end up doing a lot of repeat, review if you break them very young and it adds up to extra training fees instead of a better colt.
We will see how it goes. Meanwhile, I'm getting a couple of ponies ready to pull a cart in harness. We will be offering free riding lessons once again, for kids who do not otherwise have access to a horse. My daughter has lots of riding when ever she feels like getting in the saddle. And so far, it is a beautiful spring, with no onslaught of mosquitoes. We are looking forward to making some dreams come true this summer.
Thank you so much for checking in on our little pony site! Feel free to share, please comment, come visit our Facebook page, send a friend request! We hope to be adding some fun new photos and updates soon!
Wishing you a beautiful day and a blessed summer,
Holly
Each of our young horses is so unique. Every year, in the springtime, I find myself poring over a spreadsheet of names, each representing a young four-legged friend who's future rests in my management decisions.
Bright Jazzy. Spirited Celebrity. Good funny little Sonnet pony. The yearlings. Sweet sensitive Autumn. Solid, intelligent Liberty. Outgoing Flint. Studly Spartan. And now I have Symphony back because I refused to let her go through the sale yard after her owner lost his job. And there are more.
I'm evaluating where each one stands in their training and maturity level. I am weighing value vs. outcomes for training options.
If I were to be totally honest, I'd tell you that I don't even want to ride much anymore. Oh, I used to want to ride, every single day! I used to get on any horse that might be available.
My dad was a hired hand for some years when I was growing up. So we lived on a ranch in the hills. When I was about 9 years old, some old horse trainer got tired of paying to board his last remaining horse and decided to give it to our family. She wasn't a very big horse, just a little one, purported to be a barrel racer at one time. And we had no saddle. I remember climbing up on the corral boards with treats, cajoling her to put her face into the bridle so I could ride without getting an adult to help me. This never worked well. Someone would have to come help me bridle that head up in the air and help me get on so I could go for a ride. I knew the end result would be me dumped on the ground, retrieving the reins so I could lead her all the way home again. One ride I remember, we headed out a little ways into the grassy pasture and were stepping lightly through a coulee between hills. Some grouse flew up wayyy far ahead of us and BOOM my horse tried to shy out from under me as she always would. I stuck the first maneuver and so she had to try again, and once more even, before I came off. OH! I remember being steaming mad at her. She took a joy in dumping me. I tried and tried to lead her along the side of the hill so I could re-mount, but she wouldn't stand for me to jump back on. And so I collected the silly horse and walked her all the way home.
Then, after my dad got a job in town, we moved directly across from some horse people who had a draft team, a rodeo horse, and a pony. The horses were always out to pasture and seemed nobody rode them at all, between rodeos, or the occasional hay ride in town. My sister and I must have made ourselves quite a nuisance asking to ride any time we saw anybody around the place. We moved again. This time to rent a little farm on the outskirts of a tiny town. We were able to move our goofy little mare and her half QH filly home and began training the filly to ride. Still having no saddle. She was just as silly as her mother and began an annoying rearing habit. I remember someone giving us a library of books on horse training, there was one book titled "How to Correct the Problem Horse". The book was a favorite and I'm sure helped me quite a bit! My sister and I rode the half QH for years, rearing and throwing fits, whatever she was in the mood to do. Sure turned us both into good riders, that much I'll say. We were bareback trick riders up until a friend took that mare home and put her husband on her with a 2x4 in his hand. No kidding. He wacked her over the head with the board whenever she tried to rear. It broke her of the habit in pretty short order. My friend brought home a horse than no longer reared and a saddle for us to borrow until we could afford to get one of our own. About the same time, a generous soul offered for me to come pick out a colt of my own from his group of youngsters. I chose a yearling filly which I took as a 4-H project for two years. She turned into quite a little cow pony. She was grade, TB and QH, I was told, but grew out to only about 14 hands. Never did give up her tendency to want to buck a little, when you first got on. She was always excited to go to work. I remember coming straight home from school to ride, as often as possible.
In my 20's, I raised and trained up my Morgan mare to take over cattle work duties. I thought that way, my husband and I would each have a horse to ride. It turned out he usually preferred to take the 4-wheeler, so I was still mostly on my own on horseback when we moved cattle.
So yes, I used to ride a lot. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, I was ready to get my horse.
Now I seem to get more fun out of working with colts, putting in ground work, and harness training ponies. It satisfies the heart with a good round of horse therapy, but leaving out any stress that can come from getting on for a ride. I just don't stick to the saddle, or bounce back from a tumble, like I used to. Lack of confidence is not a positive element when working with young stock. You can do more harm than good if you are accidentally tipping your horse off that they aught to be a bit nervous.
So you can see why I am once again, carefully contemplating options for my group of young horses. How best shall I set them on a path to a useful, fulfilling horse life? Just like in raising children, as they mature, I need to step back, open my hand, and let them try their wings. Trusting the foundation we have built into each one will hold them true right on into a more advanced trainer's program, or the next home to be graced with their presence. Two of our oldest colts are at the trainer right now. My daughter is waiting to see the outcome before she decides whether to sent her big sweetheart "Sapphire", and I am hoping to send my colt Liberty along if it turns out well with the older colts. We expect good things. I'll be posting an update when we bring home Winchester and Justice, in the next couple of weeks. I'll be sending two of the ponies. Flint is only turning two this summer so I think I'll wait a year to get him started. He is a big colt but I think their minds are more prepared when they get a bit older. Seems like you end up doing a lot of repeat, review if you break them very young and it adds up to extra training fees instead of a better colt.
We will see how it goes. Meanwhile, I'm getting a couple of ponies ready to pull a cart in harness. We will be offering free riding lessons once again, for kids who do not otherwise have access to a horse. My daughter has lots of riding when ever she feels like getting in the saddle. And so far, it is a beautiful spring, with no onslaught of mosquitoes. We are looking forward to making some dreams come true this summer.
Thank you so much for checking in on our little pony site! Feel free to share, please comment, come visit our Facebook page, send a friend request! We hope to be adding some fun new photos and updates soon!
Wishing you a beautiful day and a blessed summer,
Holly