June 26, 2018

I had fun training Shine today:

• He stood calmly while I tacked him up. Though he did bite the rope a few times, he stopped when I gently pulled it out of his mouth. 
• He continued to stand calmly while I set the western saddle on his back and he didn't try to bite the saddle like he has in the past.
• He also stood calmly while I tightened the saddle
• I mounted from there after he quickly accepted the bit and then rode him down the hill to the arena.
• He more easily walked down the hill and followed my leg cues rather than zig-zagging back and forth.

He did seem to have a lot of energy, so I tailored his training around that:

• Worked on quick zigzags around the arena one whole time each direction
• Worked him at the canter in small circles, then had him stop (he is greatly improving on his stops) and turned to go the other way in small circles at the canter.
• As a breather from the quick turns, I had him pick up the canter, going around the whole arena. He loved that. I had him go one way then turn smaller circles before picking up the canter in the other direction.

Calm boy:

• When we were walking back to the hitching post, one of the young girls came up on a horse that was quite excited and not listening to her rein cues.
• Shine stayed calm the whole time, even though the other horse was jigging around close to Shine.

Shine's training has come a long way - I praised him today and that other girl was impressed by how much he has learned in his young life. Shine is only 2 years and 3 months old.

Sweet!

June 17, 2018

Another day to see improvement in Shine's training. I had most of the ranch to myself again as well.

I tacked Shine at the hitching post and he stood calmly. Once I had the saddle snug, I turned him from the hitching post and he accepted the bridle (2 reined bridle).

Then I mounted and had him trot up toward the main arena. About halfway there, I had him stop and rest for several seconds then continue on at the trot. I entered the main arena from the far side at the trot.

I did some zigzagging up the length of the arena then made a circle and did zigzagging back to the other way. He is starting to really turn and give to my leg cues.

Then I had him stop, wait, then canter around the arena. His transition from motion to halt is really improving.

I made up different sequences and had a pause between each one. We did a little of barrel work too. He is a great horse!

After enjoying the main arena and the barrels, I worked to have him picking up one lead, cantering a circle, dropping to a trot, and picking up the other lead.

To cool him down I walked him across the street to the field, meaning I rode him over there.

I dismounted to open and close the gate, then mounted again. After walking around the entire perimeter of the field, I again dismounted to open and close the gate.

Then we trotted back across the street and walked up the driveway.

April 21, 2018

Training Shine has been a joy to train since he was 6 months old. It was been a fun adventure!

I was invited to ride a friend’s horse about a week ago. His horse is almost 6 years old and has had really good training. His mouth is sensitive to light touches and he responds to light pressure on his sides. It was fun and informative to ride the horse for even a few minutes, because I was able to take pointers from that short ride and use them in my training of Shine.

Today I worked with Shine to have him listen to the leg cues. I was careful to not give him mixed signals and to quickly correct my cue if I started to push too quickly for a response. Shine is definitely picking it up quickly and it is clear he is trying to understand what I want him to do.

When I was on my friend’s horse, he instructed me on how to get the horse to spin on his barrel. Though I didn’t accomplish a fast spin, it was still an awesome feeling to get the horse to perform that maneuver. I have never done that before. J

Though Shine is not spinning on his barrel yet, I did get him to move his front to the right and the left with only light pressure on one side then the other. He will probably be ready to spin in no time. Heehee!

November 11, 2017 (cont...)

We had a blast today!

November 11, 2017

Today was my first day to trot on Shine. We both enjoyed our time immensely. Fun times ahead! He has such a smooth trot.

November 4, 2017

I have introduced Shine to the western saddle now and have had it on his back for 5 different training sessions. I want to invest in a shorter cinch though because even when I get it as tight as I can, it still allows the saddle to slide a little when I mount.

I have also mounted several times. Yay! I think today made it a total of 3 different training sessions when I have mounted. The first several times I stayed on for only about 2 seconds before dismounting. Basically, giving Shine a feel for holding my weight. Today I stayed on Shine close to 10 seconds and he even took a few steps and gave to the pressure I put on his left shoulder and left rein. Then he gave to the pressure I put on his right shoulder and right rein. That is a direct translation from what I have asked him to do when I’m on the ground. Good boy!

September 16, 2017

Shine continues to grow quickly, both physically and mentally. He learns new things quickly, except the scary water :-) and I can tell he will be a great riding horse as well. He’s now 18 months old and just large enough around his middle for me to work him with the bareback pad on the tightest notch, as long as I put the western pad under it. Dad took some sport setting pictures of us in ‘freedom work’ and we are in step with each other. That is so cool!

Shine is calm when I put the splint boots on now and is basically calm most of the time. He also definitely has a lot of energy! He easily gets bored with just lunging though and would rather we do quick turns or have me jog beside him. He’s a funny boy! We are both going to have so much fun when we’re working together in the saddle. I can hardly wait!