All about my horses!

Monthly Archives: January 2012

The Cat Hat on the Trail Again

Hope and I were out in the overcast day with the alleged temperature in the 50’s.  I had on nearly 25 lbs of winter wear plus this beautiful cat hat.

The cat hat is a phenom.  We’ve gone on rides, I speak to oncoming riders and they don’t speak back.  We’ve decided it’s the cat hat. I just look too weird.  The cat hat is the warmest hat I own.  I insist on wearing it.  I forget that I look weird and still chat with people when we meet them.

Today a slice of the sun broke out for about 5 minutes.  Not long after that, we met an older male rider on the trail.  I figured that he just might be as old as me.   I said “HI, Did you see that sunlight about 5 minutes ago?”  He said, “Yes, I saw it.”  I answered, “We are searching for that sun light!” and we rode on.

About 15 minutes later, we met again. This time we met at an intersection and we were going to end up heading the same direction.  I said, “Well come on!  You might as well join us.  You can’t go wrong riding with two beautiful young women like us!”

It was obvious that he wasn’t used to being flirted with.  He said, “WHAT?”

Hope answered him, “Susan is very full of herself.  Come and join us..”

That settled him down and we had a good time riding.  He told us about his horse.  He takes part in Extreme Cowboy Challenge competitions.  Sometimes they shoot. Sometimes they do things with cows.

Hope said, that’s one thing we have never done, shoot off our horses.  I told her that Sage has experienced firecrackers.  I tried to brag a little bit.  Hope bragged a little bit about Velvet and we had a rollicking time heading back to the trailers.

Lucky Star Loves Girls

From Jenny:

Lucky Star story for this cold windy day. New mare in the pasture. He was so…. excited. Followed her every where, including in the pond! She went for a swim, crazy horse. Four times. He watched until the fourth time, then he went in nearly up to his belly. Then had a good role. Needless to say, he had a blast on this cold windy day!

Lucky Star Perfect Horse for Me

Lucky Star by susanfxtrt

On a visit to For the Horse Ranch, I got to see Jenny ride Lucky Star. He’s an ideal horse for me. He would rather stop than go. When he does go, it’s very very smooth.
I got to see him spook a couple of times. Once, he just froze and looked at the scary monster. The other time, he crouched down with his hind legs and then scooted about 8 steps. There was never any suspension in the scoot.
It’s often suspension that gets the rider off. My horse can spook and take me right along with him close to the ground. Horses that leap straight up into the air and sideways are where I get ejected from the saddle.
Lucky Star has no suspension in his short spooks.
Whoopee!

Another wonderful aspect of his personality as he goes thru is training is no bucking, no kicking and no biting.  Lucky Star is sometimes adamant about not yielding to pressure.  As higher phases of forced are applied, he doesn’t get mad. The most he has ever done is pin his ears.

What a wonderful riding companion and show horse he is going to be!

Love and Separation – the Lucky Star Story

Last time I told you how Lucky Star fell in love with Dazzle. He was smitten by her. Dazzle is a beautiful dapple bucksking mare with blaze, white foot and foot long eyelashes.  Turns out, Dazzle was smitten by Lucky Star too.  They became a couple.  Unfortunately, Lucky Star and Dazzle are rather bossy horses.

They decided to keep the round bale to themselves. They decided not to let the other horses in their pasture eat the round bale.  Lilly, Cappy, and Outlaw were looking longingly at the hay. They snatched some hay now and then when Dazzle and Lucky were moving around away from the bale.

When Lucky Star left the pasture for training with Jenny, Dazzle was upset. When Dazzle left the pasture for training with Jenny, Lucky Star was upset.

Jenny was upset too.

Lucky Star is now a big herd pasture horse.  He is now pastured with the main herd on the 40 acres.  He’s making it his business now to see how each horse’s training is coming along.  If training is done with another horse on the obstacle course , Lucky is there to monitor.

Another gelding, Caddy, was also let out into the pasture herd.  Neither Lucky Star or Caddy were fully accepted by the herd at first.  But Lucky wanted to make certain that Caddy wouldn’t make friends with the herd.  So when Caddy was getting too close to the herd, Lucky Star would come and drive Caddy away.

What a funny horse he is!

Lucky Star Helps Jenny with Natural Horsemanship Training

Lucky Star decided to help Jedi with his natural horsemanship training with Jenny Vaught today.  Neither Lucky Star or Jedi had ever considered someone would ask them to cross over such a big log.  Lucky was certain that Jedi was being asked to cross over the log and not him. But he was willing to help Jedi discuss it.

These small logs were not such a big deal.  Lucky Star wanted in on the action.  He thought it was great fun to help Jenny with her rope skills.

Lucky Star is willing to let Jedi find out how deep the water is. Jedi wonders why Lucky Star isn’t the one on the end of the rope instead of him.

I can cross the water too and I want to be first!

Dazzling

photo.JPG by susanfxtrt

This is Dazzle, a four year old Missouri Fox Trotter.  Dazzle belongs to Jenny.  Jenny picked Dazzle to be her own horse.   We are going to have fun watching her progress.

New World Today

Talk about lives turned upside down and we’ll talk about a day at For the Horse Ranch!  Firstly, Lucky Star had his life upturned just a couple of times since his amazing birth survival story.  He did go away for training when he was younger.  That was his first time.  After that, he settled in to be a friendly pasture horse for about two years.  Nothing was required from him.  Suddenly his life was turned around when he got into my trailer and was inserted into a pasture with Velvet, Goldie and Sage.  Sage left him shortly after that to live at For the Horse Ranch in the hopes of becoming in foal to JJ.  So, he’s lived with me, bossed around by Goldie and Velvet.  I’ve been taking him over to Pine Dell Farm for his training sessions and once to Kitty Hawk.  He’s been traveling.

Now he wakes up, gets deposited into the trailer with Velvet and is unloaded into an entirely new life.  He has new pasture mates Lucky Star is the little brown horse in the middle of this photo.  His new spotted friend, Caddy is way taller.  Monday, 1/2/12, he gets to be a training horse with Tony and Jenny Vaught.

(Just so you know, Tony and Jenny have introduced a $500 winter training rate. So we are all jumping on the band wagon to get our horses in at this rate…plus the weather is being good!)

While at the ranch, I met Jedi.  His life hadn’t changed drastically that day, but in the last week.  He is a Missouri Fox Trotter rescue horse.  He was too much horse for his owner and falling on hard times.  His prior trainer told the owner that the only thing that could save him was natural horsemanship.  When they picked him up, he was showing his rib bones and his hip bones.  In about 3-4 days, he’s gained 75 lbs. and looks to be at peace with his pasture world.  He’s worried about the humans, but at peace with the non human part of it.  I got to watch him in the round pen show off his magnificent natural fox trot.  Hi many sisters and brothers are World Celebration World Champions and World Grand Champions.  He was given to Tony and Jenny, but papers have not yet been transferred.

Jenny asks me if I have time after the group lesson to go with her and pick up a fox trotter for her at Margaret Brown’s house.  I ask, “For you?” Jenny replies,  “Yes, for me  I have to plan for the future.”  Certainly, you do!” I reply.  I am delighted.  Since I love the fox trotter horse and I love the fun we have at the World Celebration, I never want this life to end. Jedi and the new horse are going to make certain that life at the World Celebration never ends.  Jenny, Tony, Nichole  and Caitlyn will be riding!

Firstly, the entire group lesson people descend upon Hannah’s.  It’s a convenience store with a little restaurant.  They serve yummy homemade food and they have everything to sell that one would need…gas, candy bars, drinks, Starbucks coffee, pizza and ice cream.  I went into Hannah’s carrying my keys.  We talked for a long time as we ate our lunch. When we were ready to leave, I had lost my pickup keys.  WHAT!  I know I had them at the cash register.  I know I carried them away from the cash register.  I set my drink down at the table.  I took off my sweat shirt.  I went to the restroom.  I came back to the table and decided it was too shaky, so I moved my sweatshirt and drink to the new table.  That’s all I did.  We searched everywhere for my keys except the restroom trash.  Luckily, I have woke up in night sweats about losing my truck keys when I’m out in the world with horses in the trailer.  I have keys hidden all over the truck and trailer.  Even more luck, I remembered where one of the keys was and found it.  Glory Be…  It caught a little bit, but finally turned and the truck started!  After that, the key stayed in the ignition until I got home. Thank You Lord for giving me night sweats worrying about losing the truck key!

Later Jenny mentioned the restroom trash.  hmmmm

Margaret Brown, long time breeder of Missouri Fox Trotters, is next door neighbor to Tony and Jenny. She’s been telling Jenny to come over and look at a horse.  Just a few days ago, Jenny did just that and tried to shake that horse out of her mind.  Unsuccessfully.  She tried to shake a vision out of her mind. The vision is Dazzled.  She is a dappled buckskin with a blaze, one white foot and black racing strips up her legs.  She is a looker!  Her conformation is excellent.  She has big darn soulful eyes.  I can’t even get her out of my mind, she is that good looking.  Well, we picked up Dazzle from Margaret. Dazzle was not exactly ready to leave Margaret and we got to have fun watching a Jenny trailer loading demonstration.  I love trailer loading demonstrations!

We brought Dazzle back to the ranch and let her out in Lucky Star’s pen.  Lucky Star looked like a truck ran over him and he puffed up into his best imitation of a stallion.  He pranced around after Dazzle.  He tried to keep the other gelding away from Dazzle. Dazzle did a few laps of the pasture. She floated around like an Arabian. She cantered.  She was gorgeous.

Margaret has another horse to sell.  A red and white mare that is been there and done that.  If you are interested in a fox trotter been there done that mare, let me know and I’ll get you in contact with Margaret Brown in Fair Play.

We were back at the ranch marveling over all the horses and suddenly I sensed darkness.   I looked at my timekeeper and it was nearly 5:30!  How had it gotten that late without me knowing it!

Hope and I left For the Horse Ranch.  We stopped back in at Hannah’s to look at the trash, but they were preparing to close early for New Year’s Eve and thrown the trash away.

We barely got home before the New Year’s Eve crowd got on the road.  The group lesson was from 11:00 to 1:00.  Never did we think it would be nearly 8:00 in the evening when we got home!

This was a big Big day!

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