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Friday, January 30, 2015
Groundwork
Yesterday Max and I did some ground work. I had intended to work mostly on turning, but ended up spending time working on standing still without grabbing for grass. Max is constantly testing. He's always trying to get the grass. When we're walking or standing still, he'll start to drop his head just a little, then a little more, and more, then suddenly it's straight down to the grass. He's watching me every second he is doing this. I think I need to be more consistent about when I correct him. I wouldn't mind if he dropped his head for relaxing, but he always goes for the grass. I think I need to start correcting every time he starts to drop his head.
His turns were okay. We need start focusing more on only moving one set of feet and not both. I only focused on turning on the forehand. We did a little bit of work with backing and turning. I even set up another obstacle to work on. It's sitting on a sloped area and really isn't crooked. Max is really good at backing, but I'd like to get more energy out of him. It feels like he saying "do I really have to do this?".
Through most of the groundwork, Max was flapping his lips a bit. I'll do a post soon on my thoughts on his flapping behavior.
Sadly, those poles are going to get buried under a bunch of snow this weekend. We're supposed to get up to 8 inches by Monday morning. It's nothing like what the east coast got this week, but annoying and cold non-the-less.
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| Back through an L. |
His turns were okay. We need start focusing more on only moving one set of feet and not both. I only focused on turning on the forehand. We did a little bit of work with backing and turning. I even set up another obstacle to work on. It's sitting on a sloped area and really isn't crooked. Max is really good at backing, but I'd like to get more energy out of him. It feels like he saying "do I really have to do this?".
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| Max was not amused by having to work and being denied grazing time. |
Sadly, those poles are going to get buried under a bunch of snow this weekend. We're supposed to get up to 8 inches by Monday morning. It's nothing like what the east coast got this week, but annoying and cold non-the-less.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Some Thoughts on Max Part 1.
Firstly, let me say that I am not that knowledgeable about horses. I believe that I have a pretty good instinct when it comes to picking out animals that will work for me, but in the past, it's always been cats and dogs. I'm still learning a lot about horse behavior both under saddle and on the ground. I want to write down my thoughts on Max's abilities (or not) mostly to keep track of them and get them organized in my head.
First, some background. I really don't know much about Max's background other than being a pasture-puff. I have his papers, but can't find much information on his breeders, or the owners listed on the papers. I believe that his breeder was heavily involved in Haflingers, but have since aged and moved away from breeding. From there, it's murky. He did end up at a local lesson barn, but was told he wasn't used much. I don't know how many owners he has passed through as his papers came with him, but wasn't transferred into the new owners name until me. There are at least two owners that aren't listed. This barn is still offering lessons and there's a chance I will run into the instructor in the future, so I plan on asking her when I do. Anyways, after the lesson barn, he went to a woman who had him for almost a year before selling him to me. I don't think she rode him more than once or twice in the paddock.
Pasture-puff Status:
As far as I can tell, Max had primarily been a pasture-puff for at least a year before I got him, probably longer. The woman I got him from said he was hardly used at the lesson program, at least while she was there. She estimated around two or three years. So, that's a possibility of up to 4 years not doing much work. Why? I'm not sure. He doesn't have any obvious health concerns. My guess is behavior. He tends to be spooky and bolt when he does spook. He's also got that stubborn Haflinger attitude that can be difficult for kids to manage.With those strong neck and shoulder muscles, Haflingers can really drag someone around who is not strong, or not prepared. I'm constantly fighting with Max over grass. I don't allow him to eat while I'm riding unless I cue him, but he is constantly testing. So part of his pasture-puff status may also be intelligence along with stubbornness.
Driving:
I'm almost certain Max has been trained to drive. It's very common to find Haflingers that have not been trained to ride, but do drive. From the little information I have, I believe his breeder took their Haflingers to shows that included driving. The woman who runs the lesson barn he was at mentioned that Max had been trained to drive to his previous owner, but I wouldn't trust that type of information. Last fall, I decided to see how he did being line driven (drove?) and he did very well. He actually responded better to vocal commands being line driven than while under saddle. It's clear that he would need a refresher, but I think he knows his stuff.
Part 2 coming soon.
First, some background. I really don't know much about Max's background other than being a pasture-puff. I have his papers, but can't find much information on his breeders, or the owners listed on the papers. I believe that his breeder was heavily involved in Haflingers, but have since aged and moved away from breeding. From there, it's murky. He did end up at a local lesson barn, but was told he wasn't used much. I don't know how many owners he has passed through as his papers came with him, but wasn't transferred into the new owners name until me. There are at least two owners that aren't listed. This barn is still offering lessons and there's a chance I will run into the instructor in the future, so I plan on asking her when I do. Anyways, after the lesson barn, he went to a woman who had him for almost a year before selling him to me. I don't think she rode him more than once or twice in the paddock.
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| I'm watching you! |
Pasture-puff Status:
As far as I can tell, Max had primarily been a pasture-puff for at least a year before I got him, probably longer. The woman I got him from said he was hardly used at the lesson program, at least while she was there. She estimated around two or three years. So, that's a possibility of up to 4 years not doing much work. Why? I'm not sure. He doesn't have any obvious health concerns. My guess is behavior. He tends to be spooky and bolt when he does spook. He's also got that stubborn Haflinger attitude that can be difficult for kids to manage.With those strong neck and shoulder muscles, Haflingers can really drag someone around who is not strong, or not prepared. I'm constantly fighting with Max over grass. I don't allow him to eat while I'm riding unless I cue him, but he is constantly testing. So part of his pasture-puff status may also be intelligence along with stubbornness.
Driving:
I'm almost certain Max has been trained to drive. It's very common to find Haflingers that have not been trained to ride, but do drive. From the little information I have, I believe his breeder took their Haflingers to shows that included driving. The woman who runs the lesson barn he was at mentioned that Max had been trained to drive to his previous owner, but I wouldn't trust that type of information. Last fall, I decided to see how he did being line driven (drove?) and he did very well. He actually responded better to vocal commands being line driven than while under saddle. It's clear that he would need a refresher, but I think he knows his stuff.
Part 2 coming soon.
Monday, January 26, 2015
TOABH: Worth 1K Words
This is a fun blog hop from The Owls Approve.
Worth 1k Words.
Let's share our favorite photos of our stud muffins. No limit.
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| Max with his ex-girlfriend, Fancy, trying so hard to get that bit of grass. This was when I was boarding him. |
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| Our one and only trail ride since having him. We went through the covered bridge with very little fuss. |
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| Princess Cinderella the Llama and Princess Prissyfeet, the Brat About Mud. |
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| Give me my food woman!! |
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| Someone pissed the llama off. |
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| Plotting the farrier's demise. |
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| Seriously, he was horrible for her for this trim. Little brat. |
Friday, January 23, 2015
Scavenger Hunt
Lauren from She Moved To Texas came up with a fun equestrian themed scavenger hunt. Be sure to check out all the entries in the comments.
1. The most magical Friesian of all the Friesians
I love Friesians! And I'm a little disappointed for the image results when searching for "magical friesian". I was expecting more sparkly images in the magical unicorn/pegasus horse category.
2. A 10+ Jumper
I wasn't sure what 10+ meant, so I went with 10 feet.
3. A horse we can all call Shenanigans! on
4. The (best) worst clip job you’ve ever seen
5. The cutest miniature horse on the planet
6. Bitchiest. Mare. Ever.
7. Funniest horse meme/cartoon
8. The most matchy McMatcherson outfit
9. A most saintly creature
I cannot find a good picture for this and it is driving me crazy. A while back, I came across a photo of an old Haflinger stallion with about 5 kids lined up on his back. But now I can't find it. I can't even remember his name, but do know that he produced a lot of offspring I believe in the M-line of Haflingers. All my other searches for saintly horses aren't coming up with anything.
Instead, you get a picture of Max since he puts up with my shenanigans...most of the time.
10. The Black Stallion Returns… 2015 style
1. The most magical Friesian of all the Friesians
I love Friesians! And I'm a little disappointed for the image results when searching for "magical friesian". I was expecting more sparkly images in the magical unicorn/pegasus horse category.
Loot at that long, luscious mane and forelock!
2. A 10+ Jumper
I wasn't sure what 10+ meant, so I went with 10 feet.
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| I don't know if this is 10' or not, but either way it's huge! |
3. A horse we can all call Shenanigans! on
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| I don't think a horse that fat would be able to canter. |
4. The (best) worst clip job you’ve ever seen
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| I've never clipped a horse, but this isn't looking too good to me/ |
5. The cutest miniature horse on the planet
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| What's cuter than minis in sweaters? |
6. Bitchiest. Mare. Ever.
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| The guy completely deserved it. |
7. Funniest horse meme/cartoon
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| This is my favorite. Been there, done that, with that exact view. |
8. The most matchy McMatcherson outfit
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| There's hardly any variation in the colors of the horses either. Can't match any more than that! |
9. A most saintly creature
I cannot find a good picture for this and it is driving me crazy. A while back, I came across a photo of an old Haflinger stallion with about 5 kids lined up on his back. But now I can't find it. I can't even remember his name, but do know that he produced a lot of offspring I believe in the M-line of Haflingers. All my other searches for saintly horses aren't coming up with anything.
Instead, you get a picture of Max since he puts up with my shenanigans...most of the time.
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| I kept moving the saddle around on his back trying to figure out exactly where it should go and how well it fit. He just wanted some food. If you're curious, I didn't buy this saddle. |
10. The Black Stallion Returns… 2015 style
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| Black horse rearing. Isn't this the cover of every horse book every made? |
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
A Quick Ride
Sunday I finally got up the motivation to go ride Max. I only had a half hour to tack up and ride, so he got a quick curry and I threw on the bareback pad. Parts of the property were still ice, despite the recent warm-up, so we had a lot of areas to avoid. We mostly tooled around the pasture then went to walk through my "obstacle" of cut branches. The front yard was mostly snow free and I wanted to do some trotting, but it also had a direct and very cold wind. We immediately turned back to the pasture. It has a nice windbreak.
Max decided to "test" me while we were going through the branches obstacle. I was telling him to head slightly in the direction of the woods to go around some of the bigger stuff. He decided to turn to the left at the last minute towards the pasture and ended up getting tangled up in the branches enough that I hopped off to help him through. He didn't freak out which I was very proud of. I also managed to get back on him using only a 4 inch branch to step up. It wasn't pretty, but my goal is to be able to mount bareback from the ground. This is just a precautionary measure in case I fall off on the trail and can't find a spot to get back on.
The pasture was slick.
Max decided to "test" me while we were going through the branches obstacle. I was telling him to head slightly in the direction of the woods to go around some of the bigger stuff. He decided to turn to the left at the last minute towards the pasture and ended up getting tangled up in the branches enough that I hopped off to help him through. He didn't freak out which I was very proud of. I also managed to get back on him using only a 4 inch branch to step up. It wasn't pretty, but my goal is to be able to mount bareback from the ground. This is just a precautionary measure in case I fall off on the trail and can't find a spot to get back on.
Monday, January 19, 2015
TOABH: Sugar Momma
From The Owls Approve:
Let's continue pretending that horse poop magically transforms into money instead of the other way. So money doesn't matter. If you could buy anything for your horse, what would you buy?
Land:
First and foremost, more land. Right now we have roughly 1 acre set aside for grazing and paddock space and that just isn't enough. And I'm going to pay someone to keep it in tip-top shape. If a weed so much as thinks about growing, it's gone. Of course, I'd also want enough land to produce hay for the year for all animals, but would also have some one come bale and stack it. Then, more wooded land with trails to ride around in.
Arena:
Max would also get an indoor arena for his benefit, of course. He might not appreciate it, but it would be for his health. To help keep him in shape all year long. No need to worry about it being too hot, too cold, too rainy, too whatever. 'Cause this thing's going to be cool in summer and warm in winter.
Saddles:
I'd also have several custom saddles made for him. At the very least, one western style, a close contact, a dressage, and probably a treeless just because I'd want to try it.
Let's continue pretending that horse poop magically transforms into money instead of the other way. So money doesn't matter. If you could buy anything for your horse, what would you buy?
Land:
First and foremost, more land. Right now we have roughly 1 acre set aside for grazing and paddock space and that just isn't enough. And I'm going to pay someone to keep it in tip-top shape. If a weed so much as thinks about growing, it's gone. Of course, I'd also want enough land to produce hay for the year for all animals, but would also have some one come bale and stack it. Then, more wooded land with trails to ride around in.
So much lush pasture...
Arena:
Max would also get an indoor arena for his benefit, of course. He might not appreciate it, but it would be for his health. To help keep him in shape all year long. No need to worry about it being too hot, too cold, too rainy, too whatever. 'Cause this thing's going to be cool in summer and warm in winter.
Saddles:
I'd also have several custom saddles made for him. At the very least, one western style, a close contact, a dressage, and probably a treeless just because I'd want to try it.
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