A new baby!

Last Sunday I got an unexpected call from my parents.  My broodmare decided to foal a day early.  With her past two colts, she has been 10 days to 2 weeks late, but this little guy, she just couldn't wait for us to see I guess!  And big and pretty he is!  Duncan is coal black right now without a speck of white on him, and he is ALL legs!  I am pretty excited to see how he turns out, I think he has the makings to be very nice horse!  He is by So Riveting who was owned by Top Line Performance Horses.  So Riveting is by Luke At Me out of And Rightly So who is full sister to Sky's Blue Boy.  Duncan's Dam Aint Dun Zippin is a ABRA/IBHA ROM earner and was Top 10 at the ABRA World in 3 events.  She is Zippo Pat Bar and Poco Pine Bred.

Needless to say he is big and pretty and we are hoping for good things from little Duncan! 

updates

Well its been a while since I have posted (almost a year!) I quick run down of what happened since the last post:



Well we moved in June so it was a very busy time getting everything situated (people, horses, cows...) So not much riding, but I am glad to have the horses right out of my front door again! Fergie came along well this summer, I took her to 3 horse shows. 1 was a open fair show, 1 was a saddle club show and the last was a buckskin show. The first two shows were interesting, Fergie was a little nervous and a little naughty, but she settled down by the buckskin show and even picked up points in the Jr HUS and Am HUS. I sold her two weeks ago to a family in KY that wants to show her Western Pleasure on the AQHA circuit. They absolutely adore her, and I think will take really good care of her. I feel like a sap, but I do care where my horses go, especially the ones I raised!



Allie had a rough summer, she started out being a little naughty, and that went to being sore to being lame, with no apparent reason. I feel like an idiot, but Allie ended up having abscesses in her front feet. I have had no prior experience with them, so I guess I didn't know what they looked like, but I do NOW! So she was so stiff and sore, that I really did not get to ride her for about 4 months. But after switching shoers, she is doing great and back on track! I took her to her first show 2 weekends ago, she did great. With the help of a friend, we got a lot of stuff figured out and we ended up winning the Jr. HUS and Am HUS under both judges…. I am hoping to take her to a few AQHA shows this year on top of starting her over fences, and then of course I will take her to Bucky World this summer, I really think she has the stuff to collect a few buckles down there (not that I am big headed or anything ;O))

But that brings us to the present!

First Week

Well the last 2 weeks have been some what frustrating due to weather. It has been about a week since I have been able to get out and ride my horses. This is due to the fact that it has been raining since Sat so the ground where I ride has been saturated with rain. As I do not have an indoor...I am at the mercy of the weather...which sucks...but hey....I can't complain.


I have had Allie for almost 2 weeks now. She is fun...I just love large, big strided horses. She has started to associate me with food and scratches which is good. She has such a sweet personality, I am very excited to have the opportunity to own her. That being said, we are still in the process of figuring each other out. Everyone rides a little different. I do not think she has ever been ridden in such a large open area as a hay field. She is funny...she wants to dive toward the tree line instead of staying the the middle of the field. I am super excited about her...and plan on starting her over fences this summer. But before that I need to work on her consistency in frame and speed. She also needs transition work...which is fine...and fun.....I do have one concern with her. She is a bit restricted in her shoulders and does not have a huge floaty trot. I am currently taking suggestions for exercises to help loosen up her shoulders to give her a slightly larger trot. I will let you know how that goes....

Fergie is coming along great. She is learning to put her head down and starting to frame up. I am starting to accept...against my will...that she is more of an english moving horse...even though she is 15.1. She has this great natural trot on her. Pretty front leg, and she just steps right up under herself. It makes me sick..I wish Allie would trot like her. She can lope, but she prefers to canter, and I personally think she looks better at it. But then again we have not been working on slow just yet. I am focusing on teaching her to frame up and use herself before we learn slow. I am paranoid about having a horse cheat at the canter...as it looks terrible and is really bad for the horse. I have about 6 weeks left with Fergie before she goes to her new home. I would like her to be going around fairly consistently...even if it is fast for Pleasure. She has started to build more muscle which she had none, when I brought her down. It makes me feel better that she is getting worked on a semi-regular basis that she is atleast maintaining what she has and not losing any more.

Needless to say...I can not wait for summer! The weather in IL will be much better, and I am moving come June 1, so the horses will be right out my front door instead of a 40 minute drive. I am hoping that I will have Allie consistent enough to take to a 3 day Buckskin show over Memorial Weekend. If it does not happen...it does not happen...there will be plenty of other shows to take her to this summer. But that is my goal!

First Post!!

This is pretty scary for me. I have never blogged before, but after reading a few, I thought this might be a great diary for me to keep on my "Grand Experiments" As of right now I have two. I grew up around horses, and showed in the Buckskin circuit for a long time. However, I am now in the process of transitioning into AQHA shows, as well as breeding, raising, and training my own show horses. I have worked with different trainers in the past, and while I learned a lot of invaluable information, I always seemed to left with a nasty after taste.

I had one trainer, that messed up a horse of mine really bad. She swore he was a Western Pleasure horse (because he was lazy), not knowing any better, we believed her, she was supposed to be the professional right? I was 12 years old at the time and all my parents had ever done was trail ride. So showing was a whole new thing. Anyway, after about 4 years worth of chiropractics (to help with his back and neck muscles), and lots of time reviewing foundations with a different trainer. My horse started to be usable again. He is kind of my success story and basis for what I am doing now. Any way to make a very long story short, this gelding that I bought as a 3 year old with 90 days on him, is not a retired multiple ABRA/IBHA World Champion, All American Congress Top 10, and a bunch of other stuff.

In the last 6 years, I have been doing most if not all of the training on my horses myself. I am a professed do-it-yourself-amateur for better or worse. I really enjoy the process of taking a young one, and teaching them all kinds of things, and do perform them at a show quality level. I can not get enough of articles and clinics, and I really enjoy watching and picking trainers brains about how to improve different aspects of a horse. Its fun and frustrating at the same time, but I love it, and could not see myself doing anything else.

So onto my "Grand Experiments" I have 2 currently:

The first:

Fergie - The first foal out of my "broodmare" She is a 3 year old Grulla filly by Sweet Talkin Chip out of a Zippo Pat Bar/Poco Pine bred mare. She is a very sweet and modern filly. I have done everything on her to date, as I bred and raised her. She is a very balanced and athletic mare, that will make a great western all-around. She is only about 15 - 15.1 hands which sucks because I like the tall more hunter type horses. She is currently the best mover I have in my barn (which isn't saying much), but she moves like a Sweet Talkin Chip, great front leg, slow legged, good hocked. I like her a lot, but unfortunately I am looking to turn my "program" to more of a hunter type program because I love the over fence classes.

Which brings me to my next project:

Allie. She is a project mare that I am "trying out" and possibly trade for Fergie. She was bred by a local huntseat trainer in the area. She is a 4 year old buckskin Coats N Tails mare. I know I am still a sucker for the "golden horses" Anyway, she has been well started and just needs finishing. She is definitely a huntseat horse, but could possibly do some horsemanship and trail in the IBHA/ABRA circuits. But my goal with this mare is to start her over fences, get points on her, and keep her as an addition to my broodmare "herd". She is very cute and BIG, which I really like. She does not have a huge trot on her...which is okay...but she has a great canter with a lot of lift up front and push from behind. I think she will make a really nice fence horse, which is what I am looking for, esp. for the AQHA shows.

This is quite a Grand Experiment if I do say so. I love the starting of the colts and the first 30 days. The "in-between" part is definitely not my strength. What I mean by in-between is the time between being a green "colt" and learning to ride and become a "horse". It is a scary experience, but I am up for the challenge and will try to post more as my "experiments" come along!