Looking back on 2012 and into 2013

First day of 2012 and out for a trail ride on the farm with
Margarita, the trusty  Icelandic horse

What a year it has been for little Flash! He did lots of growing and learning this year. We have made huge strides in training from solidify ground exercises to learning about wearing sheets and learning how to respond to crinkly, noisy, flappy things. Flash also made the move from the country farm to the boarding barn where Deuce lives so I could spend more time working with him He went for numerous pony trail rides along side Deuce and had a few mishaps along the way but we got through them. Both boys are quite level headed, thankfully. We made big strides in learning about steering though ground driving too and even worked towards sitting in the saddle and being carried around a little bit too! We are making big strides at a very slow pace towards being ridden.

Moved to PRF in August and discovered the fun
with mirrors in the indoor arena!

Shadowing Deuce in the pasture at PRF

In 2013, I am planning on more work towards consistent riding, off farm trail rides (ponying with Deuce), maybe going to a few horse shows to spectate, camping trips, and maybe even compete in some in hand classes as a USEA Future Event Horse. My My, it will be a busy year!!! 

SNOW!!!

This was a surprise and a rare occurrence here! There were flurries at the office. I left about noon to head to the barn for a ride.... the closer I got to the barn, the more snow was on the ground! The temps hovered around 32 degrees. Water troughs were not frozen. Just the right amount of wet air hit cold air for a few hours in the right places to make some snow. It won't stick around long.... but its fun to see. Deuce and Flash didn't seem to mind at all. Other than they had to push the snow aside with their muzzles to find the grass.
Since the roads were slightly slushy around the barn, snow still falling and I am a giant chicken when it comes to winter weather driving; I opted out of a ride today. I snapped some pictures, gave some pets and scratches, fed some carrots and headed towards home.

A little brotherly love from Deuce.... not...
this is the "That's my carrot, get back!" face.

More driving progress!

We had an unusually dry and sunny day so I decided we should take our lesson outside. Today was back to driving. I wanted to work on practicing steering with a bit so we did a bit of that in the familiar indoor arena the went to a large paddock to try out working in a new environment. He was such a good boy!!! Very focused and studious, even with the neighboring horses coming over to check out the activity over the fence.  We made turns and stops with ease! He's really coming along!

In the saddle and riding!!!

I asked Russ to come help me with Flash again tonight.

We had a few moments to settle then worked on the basic ground exercises and then went to work. I did a few mount and mount reps while Russ held him. Flash was soo un phased so I had Russ lead us around.
Flash continued to be calm cool and collected so I decided to practice a little bit of steering while Russ lead us so I looped over his lead rope and around and tied it to the other side of his halter. Since we have been ground driving with just a halter, I figured he would be pretty comfortable with the sensation. Then we went into a large circle with Russ in the center. Flash was a little confused about not following Russ at first then he understood the luge circle really well. I did actually practice steering a few times when I asked him to chage directions and he understood it enough to make the turns.

At first I was not using my stirrups in case I needed to bale off quickly, but I decided all was going well that I could pick them up. Flash was a little surprised to hear the stirrups clanking around on my boot and to feel my feet moving around, but once he turned his head around to investigate each boot and the noise, he was okay with the sensation and had no further concerns about the stirrups or my feet bumping around on him.

We worked our way around the arena lunging and steering and walking.  All was going so well we even worked our way into some trotting on the lunge line while I was riding! Wow!! This boy has a big floaty trot! He'll be  whole different ride for me.. but he's gonna be fun and I think he's got some decent movement in him too...I'd wager that he's got the potential to be a fancy dressage horse. Too bad I just want to event with him (if he is even game for jumping when he gets older).

 In the video we are going away from the gate and over the ground poles. He hesitated only a bit at first but he willingly went forward when I asked him. Not even the thought of a baby tantrum.

I think he enjoyed all the new challenges tonight  I could definitely see the wheels turning in his baby brain as he worked through all that we asked of him. Whata smart boy!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Flash has been an extra good boy this year and would love carrots, apples and things to chew on in his stocking... or better yet he will very carefully take them right out of your hand. But no thank you for the candy canes. He will happily give those to Deuce. (Who LOVES all things peppermint!)

Needs a moment to settle

Flash is the kind of horse (at least right now) that does much better with some "settle time" before going into any real work. Basically giving him a minute or so to trot around on the lunge line to snort, kick out, be spooky or whatever. It doesn't take long and I have learned it is easier to not ask too much from him at first. Once he gets it out of his system, he is ready to get down to business and much much easier to work with. He clearly switches from a loaded spring to a relaxed rubber band given the opportunity to bounce a little.

I wonder if he will maintain this trait out as he matures and develops a work ethic through the years....

Driving improved!

After a rough start in the ground driving lessons this week, we have made massive improvements with just a few fore days of practice. Flash's tantrums have gotten less and less and today they were non existent.  I could see the wheels turning in his noggin as we went around and could clearly read his body language too. Several times he thought about stopping and turning with a slight hesitation but when I subtly reminded him with a little direction from the outside rein, he stayed on course and did not even offer to swing sideways or paw a foot.

I am actually quite pleased that he is having these tantrums and to be able to work through them right now.  I much rather deal with these outbursts on the ground before I get in the saddle and have the ground so much farther away.

Back to work = baby's first big temper tantrum

While I was out of town, Flash got turned in and out everyday as usual but that is about all the handling he received. So I figured I would have a youngster who was in fine shape to go back to work this afternoon. And  I was not far off from that sarcastic thought prediction.

I went right back into where we left off with the ground driving. We started out pretty well going in small circles near the gate end of the arena but  I could tell Flash was not real keen on turning away from the gate. Each time we turned away he became a little less forward. Then after about the 4th time passing the gate and moving away from it going left he just stopped. I flicked the lunge line on his side and asked him to move forward and he spun around left and faced me. ergh. Not what I wanted. I got him straightened out and started going forward again and made the turn away from the gate but this time I kept an outside supporting (more contact on the right rein) rein to prevent him from cutting back in left. Well,suddenly he could not do what he wanted and he let me know about it. He shook his head then started hopping sideways and then bounced up a little in his front end. Ooooo! A little temper tantrum! So I sent him forward around me so that he was lunging; I wanted to reinforce the go forward cue and give him a safe and familiar consequence for his outburst. (If you fuss, you will have more work) After a few circles, we went back to driving and  he had an even bigger outburst in the same spot. This time I asked him to go forward with a flick of the rein on his hip and wow; he really threw a fit about that. He even showed me his heels! Fortunately I was a safe enough distance back that there was no contact. But I was sooo not impressed. Into more lunge work and forward trotting we went. This pattern of tantrums went on a few more times and then he finally realized it was easier to just walk away from the gate without drama and so we at last ended on a good note.

Lets work on steering

I worked with Flash on  long lining tonight so we would at least some have steering abilities when I finally get in the saddle and start riding solo. I borrowed a surcingle (sorta like a belt with rings on it) and long lines, clipped the lines to his halter, ran the lines through the rings on the surcingle, stood behind him and away we went! Well.. not at first. Flash has got the giving to pressure down pretty well, but the whole walking forward with someone behind him was a difficult concept to grasp at first. When I put pressure on one rein, he would turn his head as directed, but could not quite figure out how to keep his feet moving forward at the same time while I was behind him. He'd turn around and looked at me...  So I broke it down to first asking him to walk forward with no steering involved  That went pretty well. Then we graduated to asking for half turns. To complex things a bit more, he tended to want to gravitate back to the gate so I had to work with him close to the gate at first and every time he wanted to turn towards the gate, I'd pick up on that rein and ask him for a turn in that direction. Eventually, we were able to work to the other end of the arena and make large circles down there. After some more practice and maybe, if we get a break in the weather, I could do a little practice outdoors too with more distractions!

One on one walk

The morning was not raining so I decided we both needed to get out of the arena for a little one on one time.  So I hand walked Flash over to the Christmas tree farm next door. He was quite on alert and ready for action. I had to remind him a few times to walk by my side and not on top of me or in front of me. He quickly settled into my pace and was respectable.  When we got to the bottom of the hill, we walked through a few puddles boldly and stretched our legs into a trot. He got pretty revved up about going faster, but he was not unmanageable and settled into a nice gait when I reminded him he wasn't going to run off with me. Then we went back to walking and he kept thinking about the barn and his friends at the top of the hill. I continued to remind him I wanted his attention on me and not the barn. He gave me his attention for a few  a  seconds at a time and then back to staring up the hill while we walked. That's okay, he's still learning about work ethic. That's why we were out of his comfort zone today.

Growing again!

His back end took off again. Flash is taller at his hip than his wither and he's "race carring" again. (Jacked up in the back end like a race car!!)

He's gotta be in the 15.3 near 16 hand point in the back, I would say... his wither has got a bit of caching up to do, but he'll get there.

He's really starting to fill out in his chest too and looking less like a lanky baby and more like an adult horse!

Yeah, his mane is growing too... its wild and woolly for now
until it  is long enough to pull. 

A new game...

Flash has figured out it's pretty entertaining to chew on the clips in the cross ties.

Today this game transferred over to trying to chew on me when I am leading him, especially when we take off into a trot. Naughty! So I am deployed several different tactics to let him know that is not okay.

1)  John Lyons approach - you have 3 seconds to let him know it's the end of his world for that behavior then go back to acting as if nothing has happened. - So I stopped, yelled and screamed and got in his space (to back him up). Then it was right back to walking as if nothing happened.

2) direct his attention elsewhere - so if we are trotting along and he reaches down with teeth, I stop and send him forward into lunging around me for a a few minutes or stop and back up.

These two approaches seemed to have made a difference. After 4 times with a consistent "that's not okay" response from me, he did not offer his teeth at me again.

Not to say he won't try it again. But I will be ready for him with the same responses... patience and consistency.

Thankful

I am thankful Flash came into my life when he did. We both had a need and we were able to find it fulfilled in each other.

I am thankful for all the friends that I have that made it possible for us to find each other and were supportive in building our relationship.

I am thankful for the barn where Flash now lives and all the people that care for him.

I am thankful for all my family and friends who are encouraging and supportive of my journey with training a young horse.

I am especially thankful for Russ, who is patient and supportive of all of my horsing around.

A rare afternoon sunshine

Went to get Flash out of the pasture this afternoon and the sun was making a rare appearance around all the rain clouds....

                                                                                                            

Big steps.. at a trot!

Russ came out to the barn tonight to help with Flash. I gotta say. I am pretty proud of our work so far. I did the basic ground work and then we worked on mounting and dis mounting. Russ held him and this time I was not slow and gradual. I put my foot in the stirrup and swing on. Flash stood perfectly still and relaxed with the whole process. That is huge progress. Then when I signaled to walk, Russ walked and so did Flash! Again, nice and relaxed walk. We made several passes back and  forth across the arena then we made a big circle and Russ started walking faster.. and faster... then we were trotting! Flash was a little concerned about the weight on his back but he was not tense, it seemed more like he was a little unsure of how to balance the weight but the more steps he took at the trot the better he got. Another huge step tonight! He is getting quite comfortable with me on his back.

Multiple riding successes!

The past 3 evenings I have had help and been able to work on mounting and dismounting on Flash. He's been great! While someone holds him, I mount and dis mount and re mount then use my legs to ask him to move forward a few steps. He still gets a little tense every now and then but it doesn't feel like he is going to go into blow up mode. It feels more like an unsureness but nothing more.
I am quite pleased with our baby steps progress.

Russ was helping last night. He led Flash and me back and forth across the arena several times. Flash went calmly and seemed to be quite comfortable with me being in the saddle. He's got a very comfortable smooth walk and powerful shoulders.. I think he is going to be a lovely ride!!!

Tonight we had a mounting and un mounting session outdoors! The grass was a major distraction, but once we got him thinking a little more about paying attention, he stood quietly while I got in and out of the saddle multiple times. We even took a little walk to the fence and all seemed old hat for the little boy.
The baby steps approach seems to be working!

Ahhh!

It was going to be a late night at work so I decided to take the morning off and spend it at the barn. It was a beautiful sunshiny morning after a workout on Deuce, I took Flash (who never showed any signs of soreness from his crash last week - little boys are tough!)  along for a cool out ride around the fields.

It was a lovely, uneventful and quite ride.... we even stopped to explore the street sweeper brush cross country jump, which he found to be very fun to run his lips over. (the very stiff bristles made a scratchy, clicky noise on his chin, it was pretty cute to see him play.


At turn out time, I watched him wander off and then stop at a bare spot in the field. He dropped
and rolled... 

and rolled....

He is quite exuberant with his rolling. Not only does he go to both sides multiple times, he also sticks his hind legs straight up in the air as if he is doing some crazy equine yoga pose. These pictures don't really capture the extent of his poses but you get the idea. 

 What a way to start the morning!!

Wipe out (not me, this time!)

Deuce and Flash and I set out on a lovely early evening walk around the cross country field to enjoy the late fall sky colors as the sun sank lower on the horizon.

Flash has decided to take an interest in his surroundings while on trial rides. He looks around more and actually picks up his feet and moves with a bit more energy now. That's all well and good most of the time...

Tonight really was simply lovely in the field. We cruised around, looked at the sky and the horizon. We made big circles, and turns up and down the hill and all sorts of things. Flash stayed right by our sides and only tried to trot off once (mostly just to see what he could get away with and he was feeling good)  but Deuce and I both reminded him where he was supposed to be with little fuss.

Since both boys seemed to be mellow and on good behavior, I decided to take a small little venture down the driveway and over to the Christmas tree farm and then back past the driveway and down the dirt road just a little ways. All was well until we turned back towards home...

The neighbor's farm has a new horse in the front field, I learned in a rather unfortunate way. As we were headed back towards the barn and walking back up the dirt driveway, the new horse in the field came charging up along the fence line. The rapid hoof beats took Deuce and Flash by surprise. Flash wanted to run... and Deuce did too. I could not keep both from running off so I let Flash go. I figured we were close to the barn and that is very likely where he would go. And he did. Rather rapidly. He hit the asphalt driveway which was a little wet and flew around the corner and lost his back end. and thud!  He had a complete wipe out, all the way down on his side. He quickly got up and trotted around to the back of the barn. From where I was perched on a very amped up and trying to take off Deuce, it looked like the grey one trotted off sound, so I focused my efforts on settling a very hot spotted horse (who did some pretty fancy side stepping and nearly passage type moves) as we made our way back to the barn to go find and assess the damage on the poor kid.

He was grazing quietly behind the barn...on all 4 feet... good sign. I caught him easily enough, took a quick look over to determine nothing major was injured and then carried on with our ride. We were going to end on a good note, even if it was getting dark. I made a few more passes up and down the driveway then back for a small loop around the cross country field with no furhter incident or even really indication that anything had happened (both calm and relaxed!)

Back at the barn, I took a more through look at all the points of impact.... he had some pretty good road rash and will likely have some bruising. He'll be sore tomorrow but I don't think any major damage incurred.

I covered his owys thoroughly with ointment, gave his some bute and promised to check on him first thing in the morning.

Fall pasture scence

Eye trouble

Flash's eyes have been a little goopy the past few days so I decided he needed to go get them checked out. Equine eyes can become major problems very rapidly if small issues are not addressed promptly.  He hopped right on the trailer like a pro and we were off to the vet clinic. Dr. Ray was running a little behind due to two fillies who were having some loading and unloading trouble. So little boy had to stand on the trailer for a little while but he was a perfect gentleman waiting his turn.

Freaky florescent eyes!

When at last she was ready to see him, he came off the trailer like he had done it a million times and looked around calmly in the new surroundings.  I was so proud of him!

Dr. Ray looked him over and found nothing alarming with first look over so  then she put a bit of dye in his eyes to look for scratches on the cornea.  Poor guy. He was not fond of having stuff squirted in his eyes (but really, who is!?) and then having lights shined at them. While he did put his head up pretty high a few times, he did not go into fits and generally, he pretty tolerant with the whole ordeal.

Turns out he has minor tiny little scratches in both eyes. No big deal, thankfully. Just treatment with an ointment a few times a day and monitoring.

I took him over to the scales before we  headed out, he's a whopping 1045 lbs! That surprised me! I would have put him under under 1000! He loaded right into the trailer and traveled beautifully. What a champ!

New Clothes!

The wet is here so it is time for turn out sheets to keep off the rain and be a breaker for a bit of the wind and cold. Although we have practiced having a sheet put on and taken off months ago, I had to do some refresher work with him to be okay with it again. When I got the sheet all buckled on, he did a lot of looking around at hims self and picking at his shoulders. After a night of sleeping in it and a day of turnout, he seems to have settled into the idea that the sheet is staying with him and it is okay.

eehhh....what have you put on me?!

Although... I got a report that he did randomly run through the wire fence today. He is totally fine and only has a few minor scrapes and he only ended up in the next field over. The two geldings were happy to have him over for a visit and after they all sniffed noses to say hello, they all went to peacefully grazing.

Crashing through the fence is  very unlike him; he respects fences, especially hot electric ones! I suspect the wind picked up and rustled his blanket, it scared him and he took off running and the noise got worse so he kept running. 

Well.. he must have gotten over it to get back to grazing...

I wanna help!!!

Backed again!

Since my our first ride earlier this summer, I took a few steps backwards and have been working with Flash diligently on groundwork and lots of desensitizing so by the time I get back in the saddle again, he would have better confidence and coping skills to deal with the new feeling of a person on his back.

When he's saddled, I have taken him over to the mounting block and just laid over his back with no issues the past few months so I decided it was time for the next step.

I had Lea on stand by to hold the lead line and I stood on the mounting block, laid over him a few times then swung my leg over oh so easily. He was totally relaxed and only lifted his head slightly when I sat in the saddle. We both praised him lavishly and I hopped off to repeat a few more times.

Since it was going so well, I decided to attempt a few steps... so I mounted then praised the had Lea ask for a step forward while I gently closed my legs. Flash tensed at the squeezing sensation and had a brief moment of insecurity and took a step back which I have learned is his early warning stage of "I am about to freak out" mode. However, I was able to head him off at the pass and sooth with my voice that he had learned to trust and he relaxed a little bit and took a step forward as we had both requested and then he got major major major praise! We did it all again one more time and when he felt my legs this time, he promptly went forward a few steps. Way to go baby! We decided to cal it a day with that huge progress.

It is literally baby steps we are taking, but that is the way I need to go with him. Very slowly to build confidence. So far so good...

I like the bored look he has while I am sitting on him for the second time ever!

Overloaded!

It was another beautiful  warm fall day we have been having an extended summer with sunshine and warmer temps (60's) going into mid October. However, I know the rain is coming any day now so I wanted to make the most of the sunny afternoons. So after my ride on Deuce, I gathered up Flash and took the boys for a nice afternoon trial ride over to the Christmas tree farm next door then decided to work our way down the road and up the hill to the big hay fields. There was a little bit more traffic than we had dealt with in the past, but nothing Deuce could not handle and certainly nothing Flash could not manage either. In fact, on all of our trail rides with Deuce, he has pretty much just wandered along in his own world. He has not really paid much attention to anything that could be remotely concerning. He must feel so secure with Deuce being "the look out" and he just goes along for the ride.

Well, today was a different story. Might be the change in seasons, or Flash just decided to wake up... or something, I don't know. But he was alert and paying attention to ALL sorts of things once we got  up to the big hay field. Deuce usually looks at the golfers across the way but Flash mostly ignores them. However, he decided today that the carts and clubs and people across the way were something to be concerned about. So he was quite a alert to the movement and kept looking and starting and got tense when his back was to them. Which would have been fine, had Deuce not fed off the little one's alertness so Deuce was now twice as alert and took more rein to keep at a walk as we wandered up the hill. So with hands full of bouncy baby on the lead line and reins to my mount who wanted to jig and then run, more than walk,  I decided to forego trying to ride them through it and quietly turned around to head back towards the safety of the less exciting Christmas tree farm. At that moment, then the neighbor's pony across the road  came running across his field out of nowhere and Flash got all snorty and wound up about that. Deuce was still eyeing the golfers, and thankfully held himself together in his jig/walk while  Flash danced around (however, he respected the lead and gave to pressure when I asked... swung his haunches around and everything  YAY, our exercises are working!)  However, it was getting too exciting by the second. I wanted to continue to calmly walk back towards home. I was starting to worry a bit about the pony field, we would have to go right next to i a good ways and little pony could appear out of now where, but at least we would be away from the golfers...

Well, we did not even have a chance to meet the pony. They were both pretty amped up when we crossed the road and then a car passed us as we headed down the less busy road to the barn. So that startled both boys a little more. And then the neighbor was on a ladder and  pulling up a huge tarp cover for RV. Flash was already borderline melt down mode and the rustling of the tarp was nearly too much. Deuce was jigging and trying hard to listen to my seat and reins and voice to stay composed for the little one. We passed the scary, commotion and I thought we were nearly in the clear and SWWWWISH!!!! The ladder guy through the rest of the tarp over the roof of the RV and that was it. This was too much for both horses. Flash had it. He decided to get - the- hell- out- of- Dodge RIGHT NOW. I dropped his lead rope so I did not get pulled out of the saddle and heard pounding hooves on pavement while I focused all my attention on getting Deuce reined in. Of course he wanted to run too, but I was not going to let that happen. I left reined hard into a the super steep, 4 foot grassy bank (almost 90 degrees steep!!!) I figured that would be a safe "wall" to turn into and stop.  Deuce had no intention of stopping. He CLIMBED right up that wall! Somehow I manged to stay on and once we up on level ground, all the panic left him and he was ready to listen again. I found an easier way to get down and the tarp throwing neighbor complemented on my riding ability to stay in the saddle while Deuce made the impressive climb up the bank (gee, thanks) and we headed down the road to find Flash... who was no where in site.

The car that had passed us just a second ago was pulled over further up the road. The driver was out of the car and hollered back to us, asking if I was okay. I assured her I was fine and when I got closer inquired about the little grey horse. He had flown past her car and ran down the dirt road past the barn and kept going out of site.

Oh boy. Well, Deuce and I were on a lose horse hunt now. I was hoping the little one would have had enough sense to just run back to the barn, but clearly, he missed the turn. Crud.

So Deuce and I set off down the road in the direction the little one likely took - straight- Fortunately , Deuce was back to his solid self and ready for whatever we needed to do. It was reassuring to have him back working with me again. As we passed the barn driveway, I noticed all the horses were still out in their fields and looking rather and happened to see a white face and pointy gray ears poking up above the tall grass in the field. That stinker did not stop at the barn because he was going to Aunty Special! (that's Lea's horse and Deuce's girlfriend).

So we rode over to Flash (who was quietly grazing next to the fence with Special right on the other side) and he paused from mouthfuls to come say hello with a look on his face of "hey, what are you doing here!?" I hopped off Deuce, picked up Flash's lead, adjusted his boots (they had slipped down his legs) and then got back on to complete our ride. Flash acted as if nothing had happened  though he was still paying attention to his surroundings more than he had been in the past. The rest of our ride through the Christmas tree farm and in the cross country field was uneventful and I decided we were all settled down enough to call it a night.

I was super proud of Deuce for settling down so well and really can't fault Flash for his panic. He was in scary stuff overload and did not have the coping skills fully cemented just yet. I have to admit, I was pretty pleased to see how quickly he did settle and go back to work after his frantic gallop down the road.

Last of the summer rides...

I know the wet dark winters that confine us to the indoor arena are right around the corner so I have been soaking up every bit of the sunshine I can when we ride. I have been taking Deuce and Flash on trial rides around the neighboring Christmas tree farm and we have even ventured out down the road and out across the main road a few times to the big hay field. Flash is pretty content to just poke along and follow Deuce wherever we happen to go.....

While on our ride, he was trying to "help" with Deuce's steering... going for the reins every time we stopped.... Flash succeeded in pulling the rein one time and poor Deuce turned his head just as he was asked to do and bonked his head into Flash. It was kinda funny. 

Deuce is so patient with the little one..

I'll show you Mr. Scary Bag!

I have been exposing Flash to all sorts of loud rustle noises around his body. "Sacking out" as many might call it.  The idea is that he learns that loud startling noises and movement near him, around him and on him is no big deal. And if he does find it alarming, to remember to respond to the handlers cues with "conditioned responses" as opposed to the flight instinct.

Flash has excellent ground manners and yields to pressure very well. We have a series of exercises we do to practice moving different parts of his body (hip, shoulder, move forward and back). Now the idea is to continue to remember those cues when there is more scary stuff in play. (and the "run away" instinct is in play).

We have been working with a crinkly paper feed sack and several plastic bags full of coke cans; noisy stuff! Feed sack went pretty well.... but we had the fact that it smells good working for us. Of course he wanted to put his nose allover it...  (see video!)

However, it was a different story when it was crinkly and to the side of him and then over his back. It took a few approach and retreat sessions before he would stand without moving his feet when the crinkly bag approached.  Eventually, he figured out the bag was not going to eat him and he could stand still without getting too worked up.
My goal is to get him comfortable with all the extra scary and loud things and then when I am in the saddle moving around, it will seem like no big deal. I have to say, I am rather proud of his progress and he is doing very well wit hall I have been teaching him. He is a smart and eager to please little fella.

Enjoying late summer afternoons with trail riding fun

I have been taking Flash out more with Deuce for pony rides and he is starting to figure out how to use his legs better and keep up with the big spotted one (yay!) We have been having lovely rides through the Christmas tree farm and we even took a ride down the road and out to the big open hay field!!! Flash followed Deuce's lead and took it all in stride; from out of no where barking dog, startled sheep, open spaces, to golfers, to interstate traffic in the distance, if something startled him, he would stop and take a moment to investigate before reacting. That's the way to use you noggin, little one!

See horse jump...

I had Flash out doing some ground work while there was a jump lesson going on. He seemed fascinated with the whole running and jumping concept. In several years, that will be us little man...

 

Big horse teeth!

Upper incisors are in, lowers just came out and secondaries are pushing through! He's a growin!

Longer walks and trail rides

I have been doing short 15 min or so ground lessons with Flash the past week or so. However I think it is time to start introducing longer sessions of work. I am going to start adding in 2 or 3 days a a week pony rides out around the Christmas tree farm and around the fields. As long as the weather permits the rest of the summer and into the fall.

 Today was a fun ride through the Christmas tree farm. Deuce set out at a nice forward energetic walk and Flash really would have rather just strolled along at a leisurely pace.  He had to work to keep up. Hopefully he won't take too long to figure out how to move with a more consistent and efficient pace. The dragging and speeding up routine he did today got a little old.

Cross country jumps 101....

Today we spent some time out in the cross country field working on all of our ground exercises that are based on giving to pressure. He did very well working in different areas of the field with varios distractions (such as jumps, neighbor horses and yummy, not ever been tasted grass).

After great success with our exercises, we took a walk around the field to take a close look at some of the big scary looking jumps. While he did give his classic arched neck and snort response at the rock pile telephone pole jump, he still walked up to it to get a better look (as opposed to running away from it!) He thought the bank was super convenient as a table for grass nibbling but then I showed him how he could step up and down and he thought that was pretty cool too. (though stopping to eat grass on a "table" was way more fun!)

More Baby's first...

... experience with the wash rack....
.....and.... 

...bath! 

He walked in to the wash shed cautiously (the rubber mats look a bit like a giant black hole) but once he got his first foot in, he quickly figured out it was solid ground and walked in with curiosity. He sniffed all the bottles and brushes and sponges on the wall and checked out the hose and only flicked his ears when I turned it on. I let the water run on the ground and make some splashing noises and when he got comfortable with the noises got the water close to his legs and gradually worked the running water up his legs, to his neck then his sides and rump. He stood nicely for all of it! Helps that it was a 90+ degree day and a bit of a shower probably felt pretty good...