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The Idaho Horses

October 13, 2010

I talked to my sister on the phone today. She was excited to share her big news with me: she bought a stud colt and two fillies at a production sale last weekend! We had a good hour of “horse talk” and she told me all about every horse they looked at.

Good Ride on a Bad Horse

October 7, 2010

I’m a little baffled today. We brought a couple new horses home to train over the weekend, and last night was the first chance I got to work with Toby. He’s a solid Paint, nine year old gelding, supposedly greenbroke but too nervous and wild for my brother to ride, so he sent him to my place for some training.

Shiny New Horses

October 6, 2010

Sunday afternoon I drove the pickup and trailer over to my brother’s place to pick up two horses. He and his wife are selling their acreage and wanting to move out-of-state, and they think for all practical purposes they should pass on being horse owners right now. So the horses are coming to our farm for further training and evaluation of their potentials and hopefully find their ways on to bigger and brighter things than being pasture ornaments.

A Treacherous Trail

October 5, 2010

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the fall. Leaves just starting to change, a crispness in the air, and I was so excited to be riding my mare Daisy, since she had been getting better and better on each ride throughout the summer. A long trail ride through new territory was exactly what I’d been wishing for.

The Horse Husband

October 2, 2010

Next time you are doing math in your head and grumbling while you figure up how much money the horse, tack, hay, vet trips, etc., etc…are costing you, head out to the barn and just watch your wife or kids riding and working with their horses. Or even better, if it’s not normally your habit, why don’t you go on a ride with them? You may unexpectedly discover that you can understand why this is so important to them.

The Hard-to-catch Horse

September 12, 2010

There’s one in every bunch. The horse that keeps his eye on you and no matter what enticement you offer from your pocket, he won’t let you catch him. Is there a cure for the horse that is hard to catch? Well, here are a few tips that might eliminate some wasted time and frustration when you’re trying to catch your horse.

Safe Fencing for Horses

September 10, 2010

Fencing is always a problem when you’re dealing with horses. It seems like it doesn’t matter what kind of fence you have: wood, pipe, electric tape, electric wire, high tensile wire, mesh wire, or barbed wire—a horse can find a way to mess it up or get hurt on it. A responsible horse owner will provide the best they can for their horses and just pray that nothing bad happens, because a fence injury can often render a horse useless.

I’ve Arrived

September 9, 2010

If you are around horse people for any length of time, you are going to meet with strong personalities who are assured they are correct, to the point of everyone else being wrong. I would admit that I have been there….but I think I’ve arrived at the realization that I can never know enough, there is always more to learn, and anyone who will share their viewpoint with me is someone I can gain knowledge from.

Watch Joe Starlite

September 2, 2010

I was just a kid when I went to a Pitzer Ranch sale for the first time. I believe it was actually an all-school field trip—that will give you an idea of the rural place I was raised in and what we did for fun back then! I remember sitting in the stands and calculating in my head how much money I had in my bank account and how much of my allowance I would need to save weekly in order to buy a colt of my own. I have always been inspired by the Two Eyed Jack horses.

Lateral Flexion–The Beginning Steps

August 21, 2010

I started out to the barn last night with a goal in mind. With my sorrel mare, Daisy, there are a few improvements to be made. I would like her to be lighter, more responsive, have a better headset, and develop a strong topline. After asking the advice of a few horse friends, as well as reading up on some training articles, the conclusion I arrived at was that we needed to start with flexion.

A Good Headset–A Realistic Goal?

August 20, 2010

A reader of my blog contacted me the other day, asking for my advice with a problem she is having with her horse. She wrote that her high-headed well-broke gelding has developed a couple of issues since she started working on collection and lowering his head.

The Vintage Horse

August 18, 2010

I’ve been musing recently on where the old-style horses have gone. You know the kind I’m talking about, the rawboned, high-headed, ewe-necked, long legged, full-stampede mode movie horses that captivated the world when TV made its black and white debut. The vintage horses nobody hears about anymore.

A Horseless Vacation

August 16, 2010

If you missed me the last ten days or so, it was because I was on vacation. My husband’s entire family spends a week each summer on a remote lake in Minnesota, fishing, boating, swimming, and most importantly relaxing! I spent a lot of time reading and playing with the kids in the sand, water, and sun. The only thing that would have made the vacation complete is horses.

Sunday in Savannah

August 3, 2010

When I was a kid, I wanted a horse of my own more than anything in the world. I had claimed one of Dad’s broodmares as mine when I was five, but she wasn’t a riding horse and I didn’t get to spend much time with her because she was always out in the broodmare pasture. So by about age nine, Dad gave me my own horse.

Swims With Horses

July 31, 2010

I loved taking our horses for water rides in the summer! There’s no better way to stay cool and still be outside with your horse than riding through the spray of an irrigation system or into a pond or creek for a swim. Summer days with no cattle work to do often turned out that way.

Teach Your Horse to Stand Still

July 30, 2010

A lot of horses have trouble standing still for a rider to get into the saddle. For most of them, the real problem is that they have never been taught to stand. Some horses never develop the problem, but if your horse is one that just won’t wait for you to mount up, here are some things you can do to remedy this bad habit.

Chigger

July 28, 2010

Growing up with Chigger and the chance to ride and work at such a young age is something I wouldn’t trade for anything. Those days were hot, cold, frustrating, tiring, and painful. But I knew better than to ever complain, because then I’d have to stay home with Mom.

Barbed Wire Cuts

July 28, 2010

My good mare Daisy got a wire cut last week. Not the worst I’ve ever seen, but definitely not something to be taken lightly. We set up a pen for her to keep her out of the mud and cleaned her up the best we could.

My Horse Rudy

July 27, 2010

I knew I wanted a good riding horse. So I picked the first foal by our Two Eyed Jack grandson stallion and the last foal out of our Three Bars bred Quarter Horse mare, Tasha Jo. This colt was a graying bay roan named Rudy, and I chose him because he acted nice and was built nice.

Cattle Drive

July 23, 2010

Last Saturday I got the chance to ride my mare Daisy to help move our cows from one pasture to another. It wasn’t a really long drive, but I got butterflies in my stomach all over again at the thought of taking Daisy on a cattle drive. It was only her second time working cattle, and I wasn’t sure how she would do.

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