Equine Update!
Kindof cross-posted with backyardhorse
Our herd is holding at five right now. We sold Jinjer back in May to a young girl and her family. Last I heard they are doing wonderfully and they couldn't have found a better first horse for their situation. I'm glad she's in a place where she can get some one-on-one attention and our herd dynamics have settled significantly since her departure.
Panda was bred back in April and is in foal, hurrah! We did an ultrasound at three months and got to see the heartbeat and it kicked a little bit. Exciting stuff. The vet thinks it is probably a filly (it spent the first minute possibly being a colt as it kept moving), but we'll find out for sure come March when it's on the ground.
Panda never photographs well. I blame her markings. She is a well-built pinto draft, mostly Percheron by breeding, though only 15hh and about 1,300lbs. Yes, her tail is docked. We bred her to Hedzer, a Friesian out in our area.
He's built a bit thicker than he appears in this photo. He's all quality and rides pretty nice too (I just about exploded with giddiness when the lady asked if I wanted to try him the first time we went out to look at him).
It should be a really nice cross and result in a foal with good bone and conformation. There's a 99% chance it'll be black and it's a coin toss whether or not it'll be pinto (Panda's heterozygous), though probably a good chance that there will be some white markings. Chris and I will be thrilled if all goes well and it hits the ground whole and healthy.
In other Panda-related news, she's been doing quite well. She's getting more relaxed and the canter transitions are coming off more smoothly. Today I did a lesson on her and we were able to get to working on the canter a lot quicker than before. Part of it is that I'm more relaxed and able to channel her energy better and the other part is Panda relaxing and shedding her nervous energy. Not to say she's a bundle of nerves, but she is not a horse you could just hop on and kick to go because that first kick will probably send her out from under you. She'll do whatever you ask so long as she understands, but if you get aggressive with your aids she does not respond well and those legs move pretty fast for a draft! Anyway, she is accepting whip cues now without overreacting to it and the same with the leg. The biggest thing continues to be getting her to round up and soften, but again, she's coming along and has come a long way since we bought her three years ago when she didn't even know that she could canter under saddle.
The Fjord mare we purchased in March (at the same Draft Horse and Mule auction we purchased Panda at, actually) is coming along. While I was rather fond of the name "Whim" she is now firmly called "Kitt." Chris jokes that it stands for "(K)onstantly In Terrible Trouble." She is very people-oriented and gets into everything. She is the first horse that I've met who will willingly dunk her head into the water bucket up to her eyeballs and splash around. She'll also share the love if you give her a good whither scratch by rubbing her lips against your hip or back. She'll also chew on anything within reach (rakes, leads, bridles...) and will untie the knot keeping the garbage bag in the can and run off with the string. She just turned 4 last week so she's still very much a baby. I've been taking her to the horse park with my parents and their horses and it's been pretty good for her. She's figure out how to focus even when there's a bunch of other things going on. She was quite lazy to begin with, but now she's a trotting fool. I'm working up to actually cantering her under saddle, but haven't felt the right moment yet to ask her for it and have been trying to confirm it more on the line as well so that first time under saddle isn't a surprise.
Unlike Panda, Kitt will argue a little about a cue and I'd rather tell her about it on the ground rather than have a fight under saddle. Panda I was able to just ask and ask and ask until she finally found the new gear, Kitt does not have the personality for that and I'd have a fight on my hands if I did that with her. Thus the ground work!
I've done some lessons with Kitt as she is very easy going. She keeps the students on their toes as if their attention wanders so does Kitt (usually towards the fence...). I think in the next 14 year she'll definitely become a Chewy (our 18 y/o Haflinger mare who is the current "bread machine" and does excellent for all of my students).
A couple of better pictures of Kitt, though I need to get some good ones of her being ridden. Her mane is growing out and it's starting to flop over now, which I need to get a picture of. Chris seems to like the floppier look, though I still think the traditional cut looks pretty smart (that and you don't really have to brush it, heh).
Chewy is still going strong and I don't know what my lessons would be like without her. I need to get my butt moving working with Kitt so I have two really nice lesson horses. The only thing with Chewy is that she's pretty much just a walk-trot horse. Partially because at 18 I don't really want to worry about getting her cantering and polishing that off when I have younger horses that I can mold into my walk-trot-canter horse, which leads into the boy.
Kash is doing wonderfully. I'm part-leasing him to one of my older students and the two of them are doing quite well together. She is a good enough rider to handle Kash's little quirks, and Kash is enough of a challenge to keep her interested and learning, especially with his insistence on the proper use of the aids. You just try and pull him around to go somewhere instead of light, correct aids. I guarantee you'll go everywhere but where you think you want to go. That said I haven't ridden my boy much, but he's been getting worked three times a week besides so I'm able to focus more on Kitt and Panda who are in greater need of the attention without feeling too guilty.
Ruby continues to be the big good lady. I was able to take her out with Kash and Ola (girl leasing him) Monday and rode up to the Horse Park (it's less than two miles away, an easy ride from the house). I even got her to canter in both directions and it was a lot easier than I expected, especially since I don't think I've asked her to do that in over a year. A big Belgian mare cantering around is quite a sight to see and pretty comfortable as well!
Cinnamon Strudel is still monstrously huge. I don't know if she's still 15.2hh as we haven't measured in a couple of months. Her mother is 15.3hh, we're hoping she doesn't get taller than her mother. I haven't worked her much, but what she has is pretty sound. Part of the reason is that we've torn down our roundpen as we are reordering things. She has had a couple of rides on her. She's pretty cool with the whole process and come the cooler weather we'll get her fully "broke." She'll be three in December so I'm not really rushed about the whole process either way.
Me riding Cinnamon. And yes, it is just reins attached to a rope halter. She has only had the bridle on her face a half dozen times and I haven't worked much with getting her used to the pressures of it just yet. Besides, she rides just fine with just the halter *grin.*
I think that covers everyone in our herd. My in-laws horses are still over-fed and underworked. I have used Sunny in a couple of lessons (Cinnamon's mom). My parents' horses are doing well. We took Réo (RAY-o) up to Utah in May and, tragically, he fell out in the pasture and broke his neck (compression fracture the vet said). One of those freak accidents you have no control over. I was the one who found him stumbling around the pasture and, needless to say, the whole incident was terribly distressing. Dakota and Hershey are being worked on a somewhat regular basis, which is a good thing.
In other news I've started driving lessons! It's fun and different and I'm looking forward to using the knowledge on our group (Panda, Kitt, and Ruby all drive to some extent). I practiced ground-driving Kitt the other day. Of course that was the one day it decided to rain and, from the sounds of it, it just rained on Kitt and I, accursed weather. It stopped raining once I had her put up and I thought of working Panda too, upon which thought it started raining again. Anyway, the driving lessons will be a couple times a month and once we get our cart stripped down and repainted we should be good to go. That and have the tugs adjusted on Ruby's harness as currently they sit towards the top of her shoulder rather than more level with the point of shoulder, which would put the cart where it's supposed to be in a level frame rather than tipped back where it was previously.
Kevin came today to do the horse's feet. They're all looking quite good. Kash was begging to be worked or at least have some attention paid to him. He kept on coming over and licking me and nibbling on my boots. I backed him up and moved him off his shoulder a few times, though I really should have grabbed the lunge line and given him something more to think about, but I didn't.
I need to do more ground work, like ground driving in general. After working Kitt the other day I was a bit sore. Apparently I'm not nearly so fit as I'd like to think I am. I'll have to work in ground work, especially driving, at least twice a week both for my horse's fitness as well as my own!
Our herd is holding at five right now. We sold Jinjer back in May to a young girl and her family. Last I heard they are doing wonderfully and they couldn't have found a better first horse for their situation. I'm glad she's in a place where she can get some one-on-one attention and our herd dynamics have settled significantly since her departure.
Panda was bred back in April and is in foal, hurrah! We did an ultrasound at three months and got to see the heartbeat and it kicked a little bit. Exciting stuff. The vet thinks it is probably a filly (it spent the first minute possibly being a colt as it kept moving), but we'll find out for sure come March when it's on the ground.
Panda never photographs well. I blame her markings. She is a well-built pinto draft, mostly Percheron by breeding, though only 15hh and about 1,300lbs. Yes, her tail is docked. We bred her to Hedzer, a Friesian out in our area.
He's built a bit thicker than he appears in this photo. He's all quality and rides pretty nice too (I just about exploded with giddiness when the lady asked if I wanted to try him the first time we went out to look at him).
It should be a really nice cross and result in a foal with good bone and conformation. There's a 99% chance it'll be black and it's a coin toss whether or not it'll be pinto (Panda's heterozygous), though probably a good chance that there will be some white markings. Chris and I will be thrilled if all goes well and it hits the ground whole and healthy.
In other Panda-related news, she's been doing quite well. She's getting more relaxed and the canter transitions are coming off more smoothly. Today I did a lesson on her and we were able to get to working on the canter a lot quicker than before. Part of it is that I'm more relaxed and able to channel her energy better and the other part is Panda relaxing and shedding her nervous energy. Not to say she's a bundle of nerves, but she is not a horse you could just hop on and kick to go because that first kick will probably send her out from under you. She'll do whatever you ask so long as she understands, but if you get aggressive with your aids she does not respond well and those legs move pretty fast for a draft! Anyway, she is accepting whip cues now without overreacting to it and the same with the leg. The biggest thing continues to be getting her to round up and soften, but again, she's coming along and has come a long way since we bought her three years ago when she didn't even know that she could canter under saddle.
The Fjord mare we purchased in March (at the same Draft Horse and Mule auction we purchased Panda at, actually) is coming along. While I was rather fond of the name "Whim" she is now firmly called "Kitt." Chris jokes that it stands for "(K)onstantly In Terrible Trouble." She is very people-oriented and gets into everything. She is the first horse that I've met who will willingly dunk her head into the water bucket up to her eyeballs and splash around. She'll also share the love if you give her a good whither scratch by rubbing her lips against your hip or back. She'll also chew on anything within reach (rakes, leads, bridles...) and will untie the knot keeping the garbage bag in the can and run off with the string. She just turned 4 last week so she's still very much a baby. I've been taking her to the horse park with my parents and their horses and it's been pretty good for her. She's figure out how to focus even when there's a bunch of other things going on. She was quite lazy to begin with, but now she's a trotting fool. I'm working up to actually cantering her under saddle, but haven't felt the right moment yet to ask her for it and have been trying to confirm it more on the line as well so that first time under saddle isn't a surprise.
Unlike Panda, Kitt will argue a little about a cue and I'd rather tell her about it on the ground rather than have a fight under saddle. Panda I was able to just ask and ask and ask until she finally found the new gear, Kitt does not have the personality for that and I'd have a fight on my hands if I did that with her. Thus the ground work!
I've done some lessons with Kitt as she is very easy going. She keeps the students on their toes as if their attention wanders so does Kitt (usually towards the fence...). I think in the next 14 year she'll definitely become a Chewy (our 18 y/o Haflinger mare who is the current "bread machine" and does excellent for all of my students).
A couple of better pictures of Kitt, though I need to get some good ones of her being ridden. Her mane is growing out and it's starting to flop over now, which I need to get a picture of. Chris seems to like the floppier look, though I still think the traditional cut looks pretty smart (that and you don't really have to brush it, heh).
Chewy is still going strong and I don't know what my lessons would be like without her. I need to get my butt moving working with Kitt so I have two really nice lesson horses. The only thing with Chewy is that she's pretty much just a walk-trot horse. Partially because at 18 I don't really want to worry about getting her cantering and polishing that off when I have younger horses that I can mold into my walk-trot-canter horse, which leads into the boy.
Kash is doing wonderfully. I'm part-leasing him to one of my older students and the two of them are doing quite well together. She is a good enough rider to handle Kash's little quirks, and Kash is enough of a challenge to keep her interested and learning, especially with his insistence on the proper use of the aids. You just try and pull him around to go somewhere instead of light, correct aids. I guarantee you'll go everywhere but where you think you want to go. That said I haven't ridden my boy much, but he's been getting worked three times a week besides so I'm able to focus more on Kitt and Panda who are in greater need of the attention without feeling too guilty.
Ruby continues to be the big good lady. I was able to take her out with Kash and Ola (girl leasing him) Monday and rode up to the Horse Park (it's less than two miles away, an easy ride from the house). I even got her to canter in both directions and it was a lot easier than I expected, especially since I don't think I've asked her to do that in over a year. A big Belgian mare cantering around is quite a sight to see and pretty comfortable as well!
Cinnamon Strudel is still monstrously huge. I don't know if she's still 15.2hh as we haven't measured in a couple of months. Her mother is 15.3hh, we're hoping she doesn't get taller than her mother. I haven't worked her much, but what she has is pretty sound. Part of the reason is that we've torn down our roundpen as we are reordering things. She has had a couple of rides on her. She's pretty cool with the whole process and come the cooler weather we'll get her fully "broke." She'll be three in December so I'm not really rushed about the whole process either way.
Me riding Cinnamon. And yes, it is just reins attached to a rope halter. She has only had the bridle on her face a half dozen times and I haven't worked much with getting her used to the pressures of it just yet. Besides, she rides just fine with just the halter *grin.*
I think that covers everyone in our herd. My in-laws horses are still over-fed and underworked. I have used Sunny in a couple of lessons (Cinnamon's mom). My parents' horses are doing well. We took Réo (RAY-o) up to Utah in May and, tragically, he fell out in the pasture and broke his neck (compression fracture the vet said). One of those freak accidents you have no control over. I was the one who found him stumbling around the pasture and, needless to say, the whole incident was terribly distressing. Dakota and Hershey are being worked on a somewhat regular basis, which is a good thing.
In other news I've started driving lessons! It's fun and different and I'm looking forward to using the knowledge on our group (Panda, Kitt, and Ruby all drive to some extent). I practiced ground-driving Kitt the other day. Of course that was the one day it decided to rain and, from the sounds of it, it just rained on Kitt and I, accursed weather. It stopped raining once I had her put up and I thought of working Panda too, upon which thought it started raining again. Anyway, the driving lessons will be a couple times a month and once we get our cart stripped down and repainted we should be good to go. That and have the tugs adjusted on Ruby's harness as currently they sit towards the top of her shoulder rather than more level with the point of shoulder, which would put the cart where it's supposed to be in a level frame rather than tipped back where it was previously.
Kevin came today to do the horse's feet. They're all looking quite good. Kash was begging to be worked or at least have some attention paid to him. He kept on coming over and licking me and nibbling on my boots. I backed him up and moved him off his shoulder a few times, though I really should have grabbed the lunge line and given him something more to think about, but I didn't.
I need to do more ground work, like ground driving in general. After working Kitt the other day I was a bit sore. Apparently I'm not nearly so fit as I'd like to think I am. I'll have to work in ground work, especially driving, at least twice a week both for my horse's fitness as well as my own!