Sorry guys, I've been really busy. Nine horses + winter + school and all that is alot to handle.
Will get a new blog post up tomorrow!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Bloodlines.... Make or Break?
Ok, so today I want to talk about bloodlines. Not specific bloodlines, but just bloodlines in general and how they affect your decision on a horse. Not every horse that is bred for a certain discipline ends up being good at it, and some don't even show potential. Then you get other horses who might be bred for something, but they have the conformation, mindset, the drive, and the potential needed to do something completely different. So, when you are shopping for a horse for a specific discipline, do you make certain bloodlines a requirement in your search, or do you look for a horse that simply has what it takes, and can do it? I understand if you are searching for a young horse, you would base a lot on their breeding, but I want to know, if you are looking a started horse, or an older horse, how much would you consider bloodlines.
So, let's say you are shopping for a horse for your discipline. You find two that you really like. One has the breeding for it, and seems like a good choice. The other also seems like a good choice, very nice, but he is bred towards a different discipline. Would you automatically say no to the horse that wasn't bred for it, or would you evaluate both fairly, and make your decision?
This question came to me the other day, when I went to visit a mare I have in barrel training. I was visiting with the trainer, we were talking about my mare, and other potential barrels horses, just basic barrel talk. We started talking about how his stallion was bred, and some of his colts. Then, the trainer turns to me... "Speaking of breeding, I meant to ask you how Mocha was bred last time I talked to you." He went on to tell me that she acted a little more on the hot/race bred side of the barrel breeding, but by conformation, size, etc. he had guessed she was either race bred crossed on something, or not race bred at all.
I laughed a little, and looked over at my mare standing in the paddock. "Nope, she isn't race bred. In fact, she doesn't have an ounce of barrel breeding in her. She's all old quarter horse, ranch breeding." With that said, he talked to me a little bit more about her, and then... "Well, so far she is coming along great, I think she'll make a good barrel horse. She might not run with the top horses, but she'll be good. Why did you decide to get her as a barrel prospect if she wasn't bred for it." I smiled... "That's an easy answer. I saw her and I rode her. Then I decided to get her. I liked her build, I liked her look, I liked her handle, and I liked her mindset. The only thing I didn't like was that she was about 2 months pregnant, and I knew it would be a while before I could really do anything with her."
We talked some more, I thanked him, and went home, pondering the conversation in my head. So what if my little mare isn't bred for what she is in training for. I'm determined to try and make something out of her, because I think she can do it, and do it well.
So, voice your opinions on that kind of thing, bloodlines and potential versus just raw potential and talent, bloodlines excluded. What would you choose and why?
So, let's say you are shopping for a horse for your discipline. You find two that you really like. One has the breeding for it, and seems like a good choice. The other also seems like a good choice, very nice, but he is bred towards a different discipline. Would you automatically say no to the horse that wasn't bred for it, or would you evaluate both fairly, and make your decision?
This question came to me the other day, when I went to visit a mare I have in barrel training. I was visiting with the trainer, we were talking about my mare, and other potential barrels horses, just basic barrel talk. We started talking about how his stallion was bred, and some of his colts. Then, the trainer turns to me... "Speaking of breeding, I meant to ask you how Mocha was bred last time I talked to you." He went on to tell me that she acted a little more on the hot/race bred side of the barrel breeding, but by conformation, size, etc. he had guessed she was either race bred crossed on something, or not race bred at all.
I laughed a little, and looked over at my mare standing in the paddock. "Nope, she isn't race bred. In fact, she doesn't have an ounce of barrel breeding in her. She's all old quarter horse, ranch breeding." With that said, he talked to me a little bit more about her, and then... "Well, so far she is coming along great, I think she'll make a good barrel horse. She might not run with the top horses, but she'll be good. Why did you decide to get her as a barrel prospect if she wasn't bred for it." I smiled... "That's an easy answer. I saw her and I rode her. Then I decided to get her. I liked her build, I liked her look, I liked her handle, and I liked her mindset. The only thing I didn't like was that she was about 2 months pregnant, and I knew it would be a while before I could really do anything with her."
We talked some more, I thanked him, and went home, pondering the conversation in my head. So what if my little mare isn't bred for what she is in training for. I'm determined to try and make something out of her, because I think she can do it, and do it well.
So, voice your opinions on that kind of thing, bloodlines and potential versus just raw potential and talent, bloodlines excluded. What would you choose and why?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Busy...
Sorry, it has been a busy, busy week. I will try and get a post out tomorrow. It will either be a little blurb about my horse that is at training, and her trainer, or it will be about bloodlines, and how they can affect your decision when it comes to a horse.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Training...
Ok, so after riding the other day, and working on a training issue, I decided it would be a good idea to tell you guys about my problem, how I went about correcting it, and then, I would love to know how you would have corrected it, had it been your horse.
I have a 9yr Arabian x Quarter Horse gelding in for resale. He is a decent little horse, very quiet, he walks/trots/lopes when you ask, has a decent stop on hi, he even has lead changes when he is paying attention. But he isn't BROKE, Now, anyone can ride this horse, arena or trails, he is safe, I would put a beginner on him. So, many of you are probably wandering what I mean when I say he isn't broke. When I pick up my reins, instead of dropping his nose in and waiting for a cue, he either ignores it or pushes his nose out a little. When I ask for a turn, I'll shift my weight, use my leg, and then pick up on my reins. Sometimes he turns beautifully, other times, he pulls his nose the opposite way, and braces himself against the bit, completely ignoring me. As far as a stop, all you have to do is say whoa, and shift your weight back, he stops. If I pick up my reins and also cue for him to stop with them, he tucks his nose and stops. When stopping, he doesn't ignore or evade the bit like with everything else. Backing, I shift back, pick up my reins so that I have contact, but I don't pull. Then I put my calf on him, and he backs, he doesn't nose out, even if I apply more pressure on my reins.
So, there is some info on the horse, to help you understand him. Now I'm going to tell you why I think he does this. When we got him, he carried his head unusually high, and was horrible about bending/flexing. The first thing I did was get the chiropractor out. He was out in his poll and neck on both sides. They also had him in myler bit, 5" shank, level one mouthpiece. Not a harsh bit, by most standards. But after riding him, I had a feeling that he was used to being jerked on, a lot. So, my theory is that maybe he knows what he is supposed to do with his nose and head, but when you pick up the reins, he is expecting to be hurt, and even if the reins don't hurt him, he doesn't want to flex or break at the poll because he had been out. So I had him adjusted by the chiropractor, and got to work. First thing I did was put him back in a smooth mouth snaffle. I got on him, and treated him like a colt that doesn't know how to flex and break at the poll. I would hold him until he gave just a little, then release. I worked on breaking at the poll, and then bending his nose to each side. After a couple times, I think he realized he could bend and flex without it hurting. He seemed to get it at a standstill, and so I quit for the day. Fast forward a couple of rides. He was bending, flexing, and breaking at the poll great at a standstill and a walk, but jogging he would just revert back to nose out, and bracing. He was softening up a lot in the bridle, but I seemed to be stuck when it came to picking up speed and him staying that way.
So I thought about it, and the next day I went out to ride, with a plan in mind. Now, before I go further, I will say, it's my first time fixing this specific issue, so I may have gone about it the wrong way, but that is why I wanted to talk about it on here, to see what others thought of how I fixed it, and get opinions on how they would fix it. So, back to my plan. I saddled him up, put his o-ring on him, clipped my training forks{also known as a running martingale} to the girth, ran a pair of reins through them, and just laid the reins on his neck. I grabbed my other pair of reins, clipped them directly to the bit, and then got on. So, I had two sets of reins on my horse, one set run through the training forks, then a normal set. Many people ride with double reins when using draw reins, but does anyone use double reins like I did? lol
Anyways, using my normal reins, I asked him to give and flex, then backed him a few steps before going forward. Then, as we walked along, I would use my normal reins, and then every now and then use the reins that were through the forks, so he could get the feel of them. He didn't brace against them, or do anything at all really, but when I would use those reins, his head would drop and he would listen to them very well. It made me wonder if he knew what the training forks were. So, we got him loosened up at the walk, and I asked for a jog, which he picked up. I picked up on the training fork reins, he dropped his nose in a little, waiting. I was surprised at the instant change. So, I continued to ride for pretty long time, and after asking a couple things with the training fork reins, I started using my regular reins again, then if he didn't do what was asked, I would pick up the training fork reins. By the end of the ride, I had dropped my secondary reins on his neck, and was riding him with my normal reins. He was doing a lot better, not bracing or nosing out, but not perfect. We will see if the lesson stuck next time I ride, and hopefully it stuck enough that I can continue working on the problem without the aid of the training forks.
Now, I know that probably wasn't the way to go about fixing that problem, but I thought it worked very well for that horse. Because I think he has known all along how to do what I need him to, but I think he was hesitant because of past issues. So, what would you have done, to fix this issue. I would love your suggestions, because we still have work to do, and the training fork lesson might not have stuck with him.
I have a 9yr Arabian x Quarter Horse gelding in for resale. He is a decent little horse, very quiet, he walks/trots/lopes when you ask, has a decent stop on hi, he even has lead changes when he is paying attention. But he isn't BROKE, Now, anyone can ride this horse, arena or trails, he is safe, I would put a beginner on him. So, many of you are probably wandering what I mean when I say he isn't broke. When I pick up my reins, instead of dropping his nose in and waiting for a cue, he either ignores it or pushes his nose out a little. When I ask for a turn, I'll shift my weight, use my leg, and then pick up on my reins. Sometimes he turns beautifully, other times, he pulls his nose the opposite way, and braces himself against the bit, completely ignoring me. As far as a stop, all you have to do is say whoa, and shift your weight back, he stops. If I pick up my reins and also cue for him to stop with them, he tucks his nose and stops. When stopping, he doesn't ignore or evade the bit like with everything else. Backing, I shift back, pick up my reins so that I have contact, but I don't pull. Then I put my calf on him, and he backs, he doesn't nose out, even if I apply more pressure on my reins.
So, there is some info on the horse, to help you understand him. Now I'm going to tell you why I think he does this. When we got him, he carried his head unusually high, and was horrible about bending/flexing. The first thing I did was get the chiropractor out. He was out in his poll and neck on both sides. They also had him in myler bit, 5" shank, level one mouthpiece. Not a harsh bit, by most standards. But after riding him, I had a feeling that he was used to being jerked on, a lot. So, my theory is that maybe he knows what he is supposed to do with his nose and head, but when you pick up the reins, he is expecting to be hurt, and even if the reins don't hurt him, he doesn't want to flex or break at the poll because he had been out. So I had him adjusted by the chiropractor, and got to work. First thing I did was put him back in a smooth mouth snaffle. I got on him, and treated him like a colt that doesn't know how to flex and break at the poll. I would hold him until he gave just a little, then release. I worked on breaking at the poll, and then bending his nose to each side. After a couple times, I think he realized he could bend and flex without it hurting. He seemed to get it at a standstill, and so I quit for the day. Fast forward a couple of rides. He was bending, flexing, and breaking at the poll great at a standstill and a walk, but jogging he would just revert back to nose out, and bracing. He was softening up a lot in the bridle, but I seemed to be stuck when it came to picking up speed and him staying that way.
So I thought about it, and the next day I went out to ride, with a plan in mind. Now, before I go further, I will say, it's my first time fixing this specific issue, so I may have gone about it the wrong way, but that is why I wanted to talk about it on here, to see what others thought of how I fixed it, and get opinions on how they would fix it. So, back to my plan. I saddled him up, put his o-ring on him, clipped my training forks{also known as a running martingale} to the girth, ran a pair of reins through them, and just laid the reins on his neck. I grabbed my other pair of reins, clipped them directly to the bit, and then got on. So, I had two sets of reins on my horse, one set run through the training forks, then a normal set. Many people ride with double reins when using draw reins, but does anyone use double reins like I did? lol
Anyways, using my normal reins, I asked him to give and flex, then backed him a few steps before going forward. Then, as we walked along, I would use my normal reins, and then every now and then use the reins that were through the forks, so he could get the feel of them. He didn't brace against them, or do anything at all really, but when I would use those reins, his head would drop and he would listen to them very well. It made me wonder if he knew what the training forks were. So, we got him loosened up at the walk, and I asked for a jog, which he picked up. I picked up on the training fork reins, he dropped his nose in a little, waiting. I was surprised at the instant change. So, I continued to ride for pretty long time, and after asking a couple things with the training fork reins, I started using my regular reins again, then if he didn't do what was asked, I would pick up the training fork reins. By the end of the ride, I had dropped my secondary reins on his neck, and was riding him with my normal reins. He was doing a lot better, not bracing or nosing out, but not perfect. We will see if the lesson stuck next time I ride, and hopefully it stuck enough that I can continue working on the problem without the aid of the training forks.
Now, I know that probably wasn't the way to go about fixing that problem, but I thought it worked very well for that horse. Because I think he has known all along how to do what I need him to, but I think he was hesitant because of past issues. So, what would you have done, to fix this issue. I would love your suggestions, because we still have work to do, and the training fork lesson might not have stuck with him.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Horse Slaughter
So, for my first real post, I know I'm getting into a touchy subject. You may agree with me, or disagree, but please no bashing, flaming, and/or arguing in the comments. You may post your opinions, and why you feel that way, but if your comments get too out of hand, they will be deleted.
When it comes to slaughter, I am neither Pro slaughter, nor Anti slaughter. I'm somewhere in the middle, and I'll tell you why. I'm going to talk a little about breeding and slaughter.
With slaughter shut down, and the economy how it is, we are overrun with horses right now. People have gotten so desperate as to turning their horses loose on the roads. Now, as far as the overpopulation of horses, I agree with many of Cathy's blogs, on FHOTD {Fugly Horse Of The Day - http://fuglyhorseoftheday.blogspot.com/} People need to quit breeding all these crappy horses. No, people don't need to stop breeding, because we still need GOOD horses. Good horses are still selling decently, but all these horses that are useless because of conformational issues can't find homes, and it could have all been prevented if someone hadn't bred their parents. It's as simple as that. If you want a baby, go buy a weanling. Chances are you can buy a nice weanling for a better price than you can breed a nice one. If you want to actually breed and raise the baby from day one, then get someone who knows what they are doing to help you pick out a mare and stallion that are both breeding quality and that compliment each other.
That's all I am going to say on the breeding side of it, so now to my opinions on slaughter. I think, that until we stop overflowing the country with badly bred horses, we NEED slaughter. That, or we need an alternative for unwanted horses. Until someone comes up with that alternative, we need slaughter back. No, I don't agree with it, like I said above, I'm not pro-slaughter. I think if we could bring slaughter back with a way to regulate what horses go to slaughter, it would be a lot better. I don't think that every horse that sells cheap enough to a kill buyer should go. Nice, registered, sometimes breeding quality horses go to slaughter, or foals, yearlings, or even old broodmares. They shouldn't.... But certain horses, yeah. Not that I think they deserve it either, but if we are going to have it, then regulate it. Then, another thing they could improve, is to find a more humane way to put the horse's out of their misery. They could also only take so many at a time, so the horses didn't sit in feedlots waiting to go. But as of right now, all the Anti-Slaughter people, you won, they closed down the slaughter plants, and now unwanted horse's are being shot, starved, and all kind of things that I consider worse than slaughter. Especially being starved, because then they are suffering for a long time before they either die, or are rescued. So, I'm not disagreeing with the Anti slaughter people, just stating that with slaughter gone, I'd prefer if someone came up with an alternative outlet for unwanted horses.
So, here is my request... In the comments, feel free to discuss your opinions on slaughter. But also, if you have any ideas for an alternative, post it as well, and share your ideas.
Introducing myself...
Ok, my first time blogging ever...
I created this blog to have something to do, and to share and voice my opinions like many others already do. I would like to take a moment to say that while I think that I know my fair share, I am by no means an "expert" and do not claim to be. Also, I have my views and opinions on things, but that does not mean I am not willing to hear your opinions and thoughts, and learn something from them. Anyone who has been dealing with horses should know that you can't know it all, and that you can learn something new everyday. We should also know that in the world of training, breeding, etc. some things work for some people, and others work for others. Just because two people may do things differently, it does not mean that one of them is wrong and the other is right. You have to do what works for you, and not everyone else.
With that said, let me introduce myself.
My name is Kasey, and I live in Georgia. I show barrels and other speed events, and hope to one day be good enough to perhaps become a trainer in my preferred discipline. I also would like to do some breeding and turn out some future barrel racing horses, but that is far in the future, if it's in the future at all. First I would need the facility, the money, and the horses. Also, even if I had all that, now is not the time to be breeding, not in this economy.
Next topic;
Slaughter
I created this blog to have something to do, and to share and voice my opinions like many others already do. I would like to take a moment to say that while I think that I know my fair share, I am by no means an "expert" and do not claim to be. Also, I have my views and opinions on things, but that does not mean I am not willing to hear your opinions and thoughts, and learn something from them. Anyone who has been dealing with horses should know that you can't know it all, and that you can learn something new everyday. We should also know that in the world of training, breeding, etc. some things work for some people, and others work for others. Just because two people may do things differently, it does not mean that one of them is wrong and the other is right. You have to do what works for you, and not everyone else.
With that said, let me introduce myself.
My name is Kasey, and I live in Georgia. I show barrels and other speed events, and hope to one day be good enough to perhaps become a trainer in my preferred discipline. I also would like to do some breeding and turn out some future barrel racing horses, but that is far in the future, if it's in the future at all. First I would need the facility, the money, and the horses. Also, even if I had all that, now is not the time to be breeding, not in this economy.
Next topic;
Slaughter
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