Second Hoof Trimming

Trimmed Serenity's feet for the second time today after a 3 mile ride. I didn't take anything off the bottom of her feet. I just beveled the edges, shaped them a bit, and put on the mustang roll.

Saddle Fit

Yesterday I rode Serenity long enough to determine if my new to me saddle really fits her or not. I'm going to say it does not fit her perfectly as there was some rubbing in her loin area. Granted I didn't have the SMX Air Ride half pad on her yesterday, but still for a really good fit, I shouldn't need any extra padding to make it fit right. There is obviously some bridging going on here, and I do not want this happening in longer/faster rides. Today, I used the Air Ride pad under the saddle and it did help, but I'm not happy with that solution to the problem. To me, that's just a band aid. I've ordered a demo model of a Specialized Saddle in hopes that that saddle will solve my problem.

As you can see in the photos, hair has been rubbed off in the loin area and somewhat rubbed in the shoulder area.

Back in the Saddle Again

Today I climbed on Serenity and rode her! She did great. When I first got on her, she hunched her back. But otherwise she was pretty laid back about the whole thing. I took her down to the mailbox and back a few times. I was able to coax her into a trot a couple of times before being done for the day.

Catching Some Rays

I came home from picking up a load of hay and saw Sam I Am and Serenity catching some rays after a long bout of rain. I thought this was really cute, so I ran in the house and got the camera before they had the chance to get up.

Sam I Am, is my Welsh type pony that was rescued from going to the auction barn in June of this year. He is the coolest pony ever. He helps me around the place as a draft animal when needed. Like pulling the dead tree out of the driveway in our last rainstorm. When he isn't used for work around the place he pulls my Pioneer fore cart down the road. He loves to buggie!

I saddled up Serenity for the first time since I've had her and she did great. I then started teaching her to stand next to a tree stump so that I am able to mount her out on trail without to much hassle. Being that she's tall and I'm short, it's easier for me to teach her to park next to something that I can stand on now rather than when I really need her to know this. Also, it's better for her back, not to put that much torque on her from the saddle twisting while I'm trying to get on.

Ground Driving

Started teaching Serenity to ground drive today. She caught on quickly on what Whoa means. She is doing well with softening her head/neck when I ask her to. Changing directions was a little difficult for her as ground driving requires that she turn AWAY from me as apposed to round penning requires her to turn TOWARD me. But, she did catch on. And I was able to get her to back on cue as well. She accepted the new bridle with S hackamore with no problem. I really love the quality of the bridle I bought from Wind Rider Tack. And their customer service is outstanding.

Sacking Out Day 2

Today Serenity didn't have any reactions to sacking out with the plastic baggie. I didn't think she would, but I'd rather go slow and check progress before deciding if she's ready for the next lesson. After sacking her out, I went to another sacking technique. Using a sheet (or shower curtain) on a clothesline, have her learn to go under the sheet, instead of around it. This basically teaches her that just because she can't see what's on the other side, she can trust that I'm not going to put her in harms way. And it also teaches her that she can move things out of her way with her head without being frightened.

Sacking Out

What a beautiful day it is. The sun is shining and the skies are clear. Still a bit muddy from our recent snow, but dry enough to work with Serenity.

Today was Serenity's first official sacking out. I had previously used my lunge whip to desensitize her to the lash touching her all over, so she understood that the correct answer was to stand still and be calm. In today's lesson I tied a plastic shopping baggie to the lash of my lunge whip to desensitize her to a noisy, scary object coming at her. I hope that makes sense. Her first reaction to the baggie was to kick, strike, and move away from the sack. But once she understood that standing still and relaxing is the correct answer, all of that went away. On the second side, she practically fell asleep, she was so relaxed. Tomorrow I will probably do a second session with the sack, see how she reacts, and determine if she needs a third session. I doubt she'll need a third session as she seems to think on her lesson overnight.

I found a great little article about natural horsemanship and how the effect of release of pressure is where a horse does his learning and not the pressure itself...
training tips

Snow!

Last night we had our first snow this winter. We got about an inch and it's already started to melt off. Which means MUD! So today I'm giving Serenity the day off so it doesn't get too muddy.

In the meantime, I've ordered her bridle, reins, and breast collar from Wind Rider Tack and I ordered her Wintec girth from Jeffers Equine. I still need to have a custom saddle pad made for my used German made American Flex saddle.

Went for a Walk

Today I took Serenity out for a walk down the road to expose her to scary objects. My agenda was to see how she reacted in a new environment to new or scary objects and to see how she reacted to traffic passing by her at speed.

I learned that she naturally stops and looks at something that she is unsure of and that she is not very spooky. Which makes me happy, because the older I get the harder that ground is!

On our walk, Serenity encountered a donkey and it's foal, dogs, trucks, cats, rocks, downed trees, and water puddles. She did great with everything thrown at her. And I am very happy that she was quite willing to drink in all the puddles. On an endurance ride, it is very important that a horse be willing to take care of him/herself by drinking at every opportunity to prevent dehydration. Yeah, Serenity.

My New Ride

Today I traded in my old tired Dodge Dakota in for a 2004 Ford F150. My old Dodge was getting to the point of needing major work done and I really needed a bigger truck so I can pull a horse trailer for competitions. This 2004 Ford F150 happened to be available at our local garage. I really like this truck. In comparison to a Dodge Ram, this truck is better when it comes to visibility for shorter drivers. I can see very well in front and on both sides and the rear. It is a very comfortable ride. Will see how it holds up over time and miles.

No Hoof, No Horse

As the old saying goes, a horse is only as good as his feet. Serenity actually has pretty good feet, despite being overdue on trimming.

Yesterday, I trimmed her front feet and took before and after pics. First pic is of Serenity's right front foot untrimmed. Second pic is the underside of her right front foot. And the last pic is of both front feet trimmed.

I think she has really nice frogs, nice big feet. She also doesn't have any flare to her hoof wall. She does seem to have flat feet.

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

Yesterday I got my new horse home. I am renaming her Serenity. She's 5 yrs old and is 3/4 Quarter Horse and 1/4 Arabian. Serenity is a good 15 hands tall and is the largest horse I've owned. My other horses have all been Arabians and in the 14 hand range. Serenity is a clean slate. She leads and that's about all she really knows how to do. Using Natural Horsemanship techniques, it only took me about 30 minutes to get her to load onto the Valley stock trailer.

This afternoon I'll work on her feet. I'll take pictures and keep track of how her feet change and improve over time. I'm a believer in using barefoot/natural hoof trimming and it will be interesting to see her feet from start to finish.