JR’s Journal – First Day Home

November 16, 1999Posted inJR
  At five months old, how do you train a weanling.  JR arrived knowing how to lead.  He was imprinted at birth and can be touched in most places on his body.  OK, I didn’t try all of them the 1st day. I left some excitement for later.I used our first day together to walk around the pasture, so he would know the boundaries.  During our walk, he got to learn respect for my personal space.  I used the walk as an excuse to play "the games" with him.  We…

JR’s Journal – The Introduction

November 15, 1999Posted inJR
In June 1999, I bought Jim’s Last Request (JR) when he was 3 days old. I saw him fox trot at that young age.  JR and I are meant to be a pair...our hair matches.   JR is a strawberry roan sabino.   He has a red dorsal stripe, four white legs, a huge blaze, flaxen mane and tail.   His tail has a red strip down the center.   Flashy and chrome are words invented for this colt. JR's sire is Jack's Sensation, owned by a legendary horseman who is now deceased,…

1999 World Celebration with Sage and Velvet

September 4, 1999Posted inMissouri Fox Trotter, Sage, Velvet
1999 World Celebration with Sage and Velvet There's Someone Sleeping in my Bed and It's Not Goldilocks! I missed the first Saturday trial ride. By the time I got through dismantling my house and barn, packing for two horses  and sticking all that stuff into my horse trailer, I arrived at the grounds on Saturday afternoon. I had preregistered for two temporary stalls.  I drove up to barn 2, stall 15 and tried to back my trailer smartly; and then raggedly; and then not at all-- into the space in…

Sage – Cow Pony Part III

November 16, 1998Posted inSage
11/16/98Sunday morning was "COW EVENT" time. We formed into groups of three. There was a three-sided pen set up in the middle of the 30 acres. Our goal was to get our cow into the pen. My team was made up of a high level PNH certified instructor, who was experienced with cows, and a 13 year old girl. We managed to work together well. The teenager was too much in a hurry. I was too laid back, and the PNH instructor was perfect. We were able to talk together…

Sage becomes a Cow Pony – Part II

November 15, 1998Posted inSage
11/15/98 Working with real cows was much better. The real cow didn’t yell at us about forgetting our back and hindquarter turn when we got excited about keeping up with the cow. Our first task was to follow the same cow around for about 15 minutes to give the horse an idea that we were focused on that cow. "What fun! Sage thought, Let’s play with cows every day." (Although she enjoyed her time in following one cow, she didn’t catch on to the idea that it was her cow).…

Sage Becomes a Cow Pony! (Part I)

November 14, 1998Posted inSage
11/14/98  Cow Clinic was out on 60 acres of landed divided into three pastures.  A herd of unlucky cows were minding their own business when 22 riders showed up. It was the best clinic that I’ve ever seen or participated. It was 3 days of constant challenge. The 1st two days, we played games and were given tasks to increase those skills needed for working with cows. We played ground games with our horses to get them to get better at backing up and loading the hindquarters so we could…