Home is where your horse is...

I have a sign in my house that says "Home is where your horse is." Well, it certainly feels that way in Louisiana. It's such a delight to be able to look out my kitchen or living room window and check to see what Tex and Taz are doing. I drive past them on my way down the driveway, and they're the first thing I see when I get back home at the end of the day.
Having Tex nearby is a constant reminder to go and work him when I get home. He's been in the round pen once and on the lunge line twice within the past 10 days, and I plan to do the lunge line again tomorrow. My goal is to do three days in a row, at least 20 minutes per lesson.

He gave me a little trouble on the lunge line the first time in this location last Wednesday. He and Taz have apparently become close buddies, and when I moved him out of sight of Taz and began lungeing, Tex was more of a nervous wreck than I've ever seen him before, but definitely not the worst horse I've ever seen. Tex was giving me two problems. First, he wouldn't just walk on the lunge line, like he does when we're close to Tex. He wanted to fast trot mixed with lope, and I instead wanted him to walk calmly. Second, while moving to the right in a circle around me, he would (on the side closest to the barn) stop, turn, and go the other direction, without a cue to do so, pulling me toward the barn with each wheeling turn. I didn't have my lunge whip, it was SO hot and humid, and I got a bit frustrated. So, I stopped where I was, led him back to the horse trailer, and worked with other easier things. We ended on a good note that day (which is important for every lesson).

Tex's Heritage

In April, soon after acquiring Tex and studying his pedigree at www.allbreedpedigree.com, I had a phone conversation with Tex's breeder and afterward mailed him a disposable camera and self-addressed stamped envelope for him to photograph Tex's parents and full brothers/sisters. The pictures have arrived! The bay is his dam (mom) and the dark pictures are the sire (dad). The pictures of the sire are difficult to interpret, and if anyone ever makes a trip to Gainsville, TX, I'd love to get some more pictures of the stud.

I'm no expert on horse conformation, but here are the traits I've observed from the pictures. The dam and sire both look short, which means Tex really may not have much more to grow. The full brother/sister (it's hard to tell with the picture- we'll assume it's a sister) looks EXTREMELY similar to Tex in nearly every way. I like the way she's crouching in this picture when she moves. I'm happy with the dam and sire's rear ends, but think that their chests could use some more muscle. The dam's front feet look like they point outward a bit, which would explain where Tex obtained those genes. Neither the dam nor sire appear to have a very thick mane. The stud seems to be pretty squared in all four feet, which I like. He doesn't look like a dun in these pictures, but he could be a red dun. Overall, without seeing the actual horses, or professional pictures, it's really hard to tell what these horses truly look like. Plus, I believe the mare is bred, which makes her look a bit more swaybacked. I'd love any further input on the conformation of these two horses, as well as the full "sister."