Sunday, January 27, 2013
My new horse, Watch Ole Cash
I purchased Watch Ole Cash ("Cash") on Jan 16, 2012 from a guy named Aaron Smiley in the Gonzales area. Cash had been sitting in Aaron's pasture for a year or so, been ridden only about 3 times in the last year. The guy had worked cows on the 14 year old and done a little bit of team roping on him. He said he'd owned him for 4 or 5 years, but since his kids got into sports he hasn't been riding. Cash was so fat when we got him!
We tried him out for a week, and in the midst of that week I took Tex to the Daniel Dauphin horsemanship intermediate clinic.
When I first met Cash on Jan 9, it was on our way to roping practice. He was pretty responsive on the ground, neck reined pretty nicely, but he had some really, really slow feet! I wasn't convinced.
Then, on the 12th-13th, I went to the clinic and learned how to loosen up Tex's feet quite a bit. After I got home and rode Cash, it seemed as though I could do the same activities with Cash to loosen up his sticky feet. My husband, the more experienced horse person, loved him and was convinced that he has a sound mind, was very willing, and was just rusty on the things he actually knows. I trust his opinion, and I liked Cash's sweet disposition pretty well, and saw potential, so I agreed. We paid up and now he's ours.
What I like about him:
Low head set and can be ridden without a tie-down in the pasture.
He's been roped off of
He's big
Nice hips and shoulders
He is very, very gentle
He's not spooky
Not too forward- I wasn't really looking for a forward mover.
He is fast when he needs to catch up with a cow.
His head is gorgeous.
He has big sturdy feet.
I can ride him bareback!
He neck reins. :)
What needs a little work:
His headset - he's naturally low, but pops that head up when I pull back at times. You can tell he's been ridden with a tie-down and that he's looking for it.
Moving, moving, moving. He can really be slow when he wants to, and can ignore my spurs. There is lots of potential there (as seen in the roping pen) but I need it there when I want it.
Moving his parts individually. Shoulders aren't bad, hips could use some work.
Stop- could use a little work. He's about a "3 step stopper" right now. I think I can handle that problem.
Roundness. He could be a little more collected and round. Typical roping horse problem.
Ground manners. He isn't as responsive to the halter as I'd like, but he's already getting the hang of what I won't put up with just in a couple days of working on that. I will not tolerate disrespect on the ground.
We'll see how this progresses. In the meantime, I plan to continue on with Tex until I get Tex neck reining, loping more calmly, and being able to be ridden outside the arena.
TM
We tried him out for a week, and in the midst of that week I took Tex to the Daniel Dauphin horsemanship intermediate clinic.
When I first met Cash on Jan 9, it was on our way to roping practice. He was pretty responsive on the ground, neck reined pretty nicely, but he had some really, really slow feet! I wasn't convinced.
Then, on the 12th-13th, I went to the clinic and learned how to loosen up Tex's feet quite a bit. After I got home and rode Cash, it seemed as though I could do the same activities with Cash to loosen up his sticky feet. My husband, the more experienced horse person, loved him and was convinced that he has a sound mind, was very willing, and was just rusty on the things he actually knows. I trust his opinion, and I liked Cash's sweet disposition pretty well, and saw potential, so I agreed. We paid up and now he's ours.
What I like about him:
Low head set and can be ridden without a tie-down in the pasture.
He's been roped off of
He's big
Nice hips and shoulders
He is very, very gentle
He's not spooky
Not too forward- I wasn't really looking for a forward mover.
He is fast when he needs to catch up with a cow.
His head is gorgeous.
He has big sturdy feet.
I can ride him bareback!
He neck reins. :)
What needs a little work:
His headset - he's naturally low, but pops that head up when I pull back at times. You can tell he's been ridden with a tie-down and that he's looking for it.
Moving, moving, moving. He can really be slow when he wants to, and can ignore my spurs. There is lots of potential there (as seen in the roping pen) but I need it there when I want it.
Moving his parts individually. Shoulders aren't bad, hips could use some work.
Stop- could use a little work. He's about a "3 step stopper" right now. I think I can handle that problem.
Roundness. He could be a little more collected and round. Typical roping horse problem.
Ground manners. He isn't as responsive to the halter as I'd like, but he's already getting the hang of what I won't put up with just in a couple days of working on that. I will not tolerate disrespect on the ground.
We'll see how this progresses. In the meantime, I plan to continue on with Tex until I get Tex neck reining, loping more calmly, and being able to be ridden outside the arena.
TM
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Daniel Dauphin Horsemanship Clinic
What a horse-filled weekend!
Friday night we brought Cash and Tex to team sorting practice to try out Cash and see if we liked the way he moved at sorting. We're still trying him out to see if we want to buy him. He has one heck of a sweet disposition, and doesn't seem to have any mean bones in him. He's a little slow to move off, just like Tex, but he seems to know how to move correctly. He did OK at sorting, but he's so fat right now that it's hard for him to move fast at anything. I think he needs either a little work or a refresher course at moving when I say "move."
Saturday morning (after only about 4-5 hours of sleep) I got up and Tex and I drove 2.25 hours to Rayne, LA to Daniel Dauphin's horsemanship intermediate clinic. I've only been to one other horse clinic in my life with Taz, Josh's Arabian/Paint/Quarter Horse, back in 2008. That was an experience to say the least- a disastrous, discouraging one. That will have to be another story. So, I was a little nervous that my horse would be the greenest one at Daniel's clinic, and that I would be the worst rider there. I tried hard to set my expectations low so that I'd be nothing but pleased, and even called Daniel to warn him about us both being a little green.
We arrived just before start time, quickly saddled up, and got started. We began "the purposeful circle," energetically, symmetrically, and curvy moving around in a tight circle. I began by riding with the bosal. Tex was his normal self- not picking up his feet, not moving with energy, and leaning on my hands. Daniel immediately helped me address the sticky feet and leaning nose by increasing my level of energy I used to motivate Tex. I was probably asking him at a 2 energy level, when Tex needed a 4 or 5 to get motivated and finally move off of my spur.
We made a little progress there. Next we did the serpentine pattern, which was nothing but cones set up sort of like a pole bending pattern. We had to pretty much do half-circles around them, similar to pole bending but perfectly round instead of cutting in. Tex still was doing the same thing- heavy, heavy nose and feet. Daniel once again encouraged me to give stronger cues sooner. Pretty soon, (and unbelievably for me) Tex began moving off MUCH faster and lighter. I learned to pick up the reins and "pick up his shoulder" to help him figure out what I was wanting. Within the morning, he was paying attention the first time I asked him to go, paying attention to my spurs a little better, and moving much more fluidly without trying to stop every step or two.
We then added some counterbending (Daniel called it a counterarc) into our serpentine pattern. It wasn't easy, but we got the hang of it. By the end of the day on Saturday, Tex could move his shoulders over pretty willingly and quickly, and he was moving his feet more energetically than I've ever seen.
We later did the "hips first" in the serpentine pattern. Tex wasn't so good at that one. Perhaps that's because we've been working so hard to not let him move his hips, because he was so heavy on the front end. Regardless, he picked it up. He didn't do as well with that as the shoulers over.
Today we did the serpentine pattern round, with shoulders (counterbending), and with hips leading. We worked on departures, which are asking the horse to go from a stop to a lope in no time. Apparently I was a little overzealous with that one, because by the end of the activity Daniel told me that I may want to try to elicit that "going" response a little softer.
Tex earned the nickname "Mighty Mouse" and Daniel offered up to $85 for him. The price went up and down depending on his performance. Ha ha.
Some of my favorite quotes from the weekend:
"Your horse is giving you the finger. You need to tell her "No Ma'am."
"We can just go around stimulating each other's horses."
"A bit is only as harsh as the hands holding it."
"Most horses need to be asked a level 1, and progress to a 2 or 3. Your horse may need to start at a 4,5,6 level of energy to get him going." (by the end of the weekend, the 1,2 worked just fine, but the 4,5,6 moments made that happen.)
My confessions:
1. I'm a little bit competitive, and wanted to be the person who made the most progress this weekend.
2. I'm stinking proud of my little horse's progress this weekend.
3. My placement of my weight still pretty much sucks.
4. I tend to overcue with my reins and have too much slack.
5. As much as I try to convince myself that selling Tex is the wisest thing to do, I still don't want to do it. I was afraid that might happen after this weekend.
Some specific things I learned:
1. Pulling reins toward the horn brings a bend, whereas pulling reins outward is to cue a turn.
2. It's OK to put your leg onto the inside of a turn to get the ribs moving out and around your leg
3. How much to push Tex.
4. The faster I get firm with him, the faster he gets lighter about doing what I want.
5. My weight goes on the outside, driving the horse's ribs/shoulder/hips in the direction I want them to go.
6. My horse has a great stop. (I sort-of knew that, but haven't ever gotten it that consistently.)
7. My horse CAN move after all.
8. I needed to be SO much more aggressive with my feet- not forever, but for a little while.
9. A thin spur has less surface area, so it's harsher.
10. How to ask for my horse's hip to come over.
11. Counterbending is cued a lot by where your weight is.
12. I got a lot better with cuing with my reins.
13. The "purchase" is the part of a bit that's above the mouthpiece.
14. Some bits work on the palate of the horse's mouth! Ouch!
15. Photographers don't end up with very many good pictures of themselves.
When I got home and told the husband about all we had done and what I'd learned, he said "Sounds like I could've saved you the money if you'd just listened to me." I knew he would say that. But as most wives know, sometimes the people we're closest too are the people we're least willing to listen to or learn from. It really helped to have step-by-step instructions, visual obstacles, other people doing the activities, a set time to practice, and someone encouraging and correcting along the way.
This experience took Tex and myself further in two days than we would've gotten in four, maybe six, months of guesswork and simple circles in the arena. I'm so glad I went.
TM
Friday night we brought Cash and Tex to team sorting practice to try out Cash and see if we liked the way he moved at sorting. We're still trying him out to see if we want to buy him. He has one heck of a sweet disposition, and doesn't seem to have any mean bones in him. He's a little slow to move off, just like Tex, but he seems to know how to move correctly. He did OK at sorting, but he's so fat right now that it's hard for him to move fast at anything. I think he needs either a little work or a refresher course at moving when I say "move."
Saturday morning (after only about 4-5 hours of sleep) I got up and Tex and I drove 2.25 hours to Rayne, LA to Daniel Dauphin's horsemanship intermediate clinic. I've only been to one other horse clinic in my life with Taz, Josh's Arabian/Paint/Quarter Horse, back in 2008. That was an experience to say the least- a disastrous, discouraging one. That will have to be another story. So, I was a little nervous that my horse would be the greenest one at Daniel's clinic, and that I would be the worst rider there. I tried hard to set my expectations low so that I'd be nothing but pleased, and even called Daniel to warn him about us both being a little green.
We arrived just before start time, quickly saddled up, and got started. We began "the purposeful circle," energetically, symmetrically, and curvy moving around in a tight circle. I began by riding with the bosal. Tex was his normal self- not picking up his feet, not moving with energy, and leaning on my hands. Daniel immediately helped me address the sticky feet and leaning nose by increasing my level of energy I used to motivate Tex. I was probably asking him at a 2 energy level, when Tex needed a 4 or 5 to get motivated and finally move off of my spur.
We made a little progress there. Next we did the serpentine pattern, which was nothing but cones set up sort of like a pole bending pattern. We had to pretty much do half-circles around them, similar to pole bending but perfectly round instead of cutting in. Tex still was doing the same thing- heavy, heavy nose and feet. Daniel once again encouraged me to give stronger cues sooner. Pretty soon, (and unbelievably for me) Tex began moving off MUCH faster and lighter. I learned to pick up the reins and "pick up his shoulder" to help him figure out what I was wanting. Within the morning, he was paying attention the first time I asked him to go, paying attention to my spurs a little better, and moving much more fluidly without trying to stop every step or two.
We then added some counterbending (Daniel called it a counterarc) into our serpentine pattern. It wasn't easy, but we got the hang of it. By the end of the day on Saturday, Tex could move his shoulders over pretty willingly and quickly, and he was moving his feet more energetically than I've ever seen.
We later did the "hips first" in the serpentine pattern. Tex wasn't so good at that one. Perhaps that's because we've been working so hard to not let him move his hips, because he was so heavy on the front end. Regardless, he picked it up. He didn't do as well with that as the shoulers over.
Today we did the serpentine pattern round, with shoulders (counterbending), and with hips leading. We worked on departures, which are asking the horse to go from a stop to a lope in no time. Apparently I was a little overzealous with that one, because by the end of the activity Daniel told me that I may want to try to elicit that "going" response a little softer.
Tex earned the nickname "Mighty Mouse" and Daniel offered up to $85 for him. The price went up and down depending on his performance. Ha ha.
Some of my favorite quotes from the weekend:
"Your horse is giving you the finger. You need to tell her "No Ma'am."
"We can just go around stimulating each other's horses."
"A bit is only as harsh as the hands holding it."
"Most horses need to be asked a level 1, and progress to a 2 or 3. Your horse may need to start at a 4,5,6 level of energy to get him going." (by the end of the weekend, the 1,2 worked just fine, but the 4,5,6 moments made that happen.)
My confessions:
1. I'm a little bit competitive, and wanted to be the person who made the most progress this weekend.
2. I'm stinking proud of my little horse's progress this weekend.
3. My placement of my weight still pretty much sucks.
4. I tend to overcue with my reins and have too much slack.
5. As much as I try to convince myself that selling Tex is the wisest thing to do, I still don't want to do it. I was afraid that might happen after this weekend.
Some specific things I learned:
1. Pulling reins toward the horn brings a bend, whereas pulling reins outward is to cue a turn.
2. It's OK to put your leg onto the inside of a turn to get the ribs moving out and around your leg
3. How much to push Tex.
4. The faster I get firm with him, the faster he gets lighter about doing what I want.
5. My weight goes on the outside, driving the horse's ribs/shoulder/hips in the direction I want them to go.
6. My horse has a great stop. (I sort-of knew that, but haven't ever gotten it that consistently.)
7. My horse CAN move after all.
8. I needed to be SO much more aggressive with my feet- not forever, but for a little while.
9. A thin spur has less surface area, so it's harsher.
10. How to ask for my horse's hip to come over.
11. Counterbending is cued a lot by where your weight is.
12. I got a lot better with cuing with my reins.
13. The "purchase" is the part of a bit that's above the mouthpiece.
14. Some bits work on the palate of the horse's mouth! Ouch!
15. Photographers don't end up with very many good pictures of themselves.
When I got home and told the husband about all we had done and what I'd learned, he said "Sounds like I could've saved you the money if you'd just listened to me." I knew he would say that. But as most wives know, sometimes the people we're closest too are the people we're least willing to listen to or learn from. It really helped to have step-by-step instructions, visual obstacles, other people doing the activities, a set time to practice, and someone encouraging and correcting along the way.
This experience took Tex and myself further in two days than we would've gotten in four, maybe six, months of guesswork and simple circles in the arena. I'm so glad I went.
TM
Friday, January 11, 2013
Horse shopping
But the big guy hasn't been ridden in nearly a year.
It takes a little spurring to get him up and going, but he's the slow and steady type until its time to catch a steer.
He likes to play peek-a-boo over the stall and has a pretty head.
We will be taking him to team sorting tonight to try him on that.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Horse shopping
We have decided to horse shop. I guess for most multiple horse owners, that's not too big of a deal. But for me, a one-horse owner, it's a pretty big decision. I've been torn over it for a long time. I like Tex very much, and I'm so proud of the progress he's made, either from the trainer I sent him to a year ago, from my riding him, or my husband riding him. However, it seems as though I never have enough time to train regularly. I'm usually doing good to ride once a week due to my work (and home) schedule. But when I do ride, it's at team roping practice, team sorting practice, or at ranch rodeos.
This past year I rode Tex in one or two ranch rodeos, but I borrowed a finished horse for the rest of them, and that's when I did best.
At roping practice, when I'm actually roping and not just riding Tex around to track cows or play, I borrow my husband's roping horse.
At team sorting, I ride Tex, but I'm constantly having to pull him hard to get him to turn. He sort of gets it, but he's not fast.
When we trail ride around the house, I don't feel comfortable on him. I have only ridden him out of an arena probably less than 20 times, and he's a bit nervous about it.
I want a bigger, sweet horse that's responsive, attractive, with cow sense, and that I get along with great. I'd like one at 13 years old or less, so that I have plenty of time with it. I like mares. I want something with some personality, with great ground manners, that has been roped off of, and that isn't too high strung. I prefer a horse that's not too forward. It must have a low head set.
The thing is, I like Tex. He's intelligent, and personable, but I guess not big enough for heading or really pulling a cow. He likes cows, but isn't quick at cutting. I see his potential for being a very good kid's horse because he is soooo laid back and lazy, but I don't know that I'm the right person to get him to that point.
So, since this is such a huge decision for me, I felt it best to make a list to help sort my thoughts.
Pros of a new horse
Bigger & could pull a steer
I could go do anything
I would do better in ranch rodeos
I would (maybe) have more fun at team sorting.
Prettier
I could learn to ride better
I could rope more
I could let my young daughter ride with me
I could ride on trails and feel comfortable
I could feel free to compete more in anything
I may not be as frustrated when I don't have time to ride because the horse won't need the work
Cons of a new horse:
Expensive
Stressful to shop for!
Learning to trust a new horse
I won't feel a sense of accomplishment from training the horse myself
It may have health problems
What if:
The new horse suddenly dies?
It bucks me off?
It's not as good as we thought?
We buy it and then immediately need to purchase something as an emergency?
I don't like it after a while?
I regret selling Tex?
I feel like a quitter?
I don't enjoy it any more because it's not a goal?
I am horrible at making big decisions!!!
TM
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