Great weekend!

I had the best weekend ever! First of all, I rode on BOTH days!!! Second, I had a blast! I had so much fun, I can't even describe it!

You know, I wanted to work with Dandy, get her to canter (or lope) circles... well, I worked on that, plus loping in general and transitions. Turns out my girl can do much more than I thought she could.

I am trying to teach her to lope from a stop and from a walk... she is accurate about 60% of the time... which is not bad, since we just started! Horses are so smart, we sometimes underestimate them, we shouldn't. Dandy has consistently loped a slow collected lope on a loose rein (very loose!) and held it for about two minutes. Her lope is slower than most trots and is SO comfortable, it's almost a sin. I plan to videotape it and put a piece on here soon! She is able to lope a half circle on a loose rein, but cannot hold herself to complete the circle. We have succesfully loped one circle, with reminders to keep loping and trotted quite a few of them. Her muscles aren't quite strong enough yet to constantly hold herself, but she is pretty good on a straight line! Also, I don't have to hold her back, she is totally on a loose rein. I can also change from a slow lope to a faster lope or a gallop by just touching her or making kissing noises. She will not runaway on me, unless I really push her. I did this both days with an hour trail ride on Sunday to warm her up... I know, they don't need an hour to warm up, I just got carried away! lol.

On a second note for the weekend. I have received my Easywalker horse shoes. I tried my hand at shoeing Peg in the front on Saturday, she was very patient. The shoes were fairly easy for me to put on. I think I did a pretty good job! I will post pictures and a video of her after the shoes are on soon.

Peg turned out to be very sound... and almost uncontrolable once the shoes were on. We took small video of her walking and trotting and she was being a handful, which is not her nature at all! So I decided to turn her out... well... I entered the pasture and I nearly got run over by Peg, she was in a hurry to try her shoes. So I undid her halter and as soon as it was off, ZOOM! she went flying, runing, cantering, trotting a beautiful extended trot... and pacing... yeah...she paces at liberty... Then she came back our way after cantering a tight circle and trotted by, then turning around and picking a race (a true Standardbred race!) with Pearl, who was unshod, but very sound in the pasture. They bucked and kicked at each other and pretty much goofed off for about 10 minutes... I have to say, I have NEVER seen Peg move the way she did... and a flat run... NEVER EVER would I imagine she would do that on her own! I was completely stunned. It seriously blew my mind. I watched them the whole time.

Sunday, we decided to put the shoes to the test! We went riding... my sister took Peg and I took Dandy (who is still unshod and doing fabulous!). We went on gravel roads, pavement, deep mud, creeks, branches and they held up to the challenge. After our ride, while I was playing with Dandy in the field, my sister was running poles with Peg and cantering around just as much as I was!!!! Peg could've never done that before! When we were done riding, after two hours, I checked the shoes and they held up great, nothing loose... so my "farrier" job held up! I'm no farrier, but I know the hoof pretty well after trimming for barefoot performance for 3 years, plus I read up a bunch on what to do and how and where to put what.

These shoes allow for the hoof to flex and they also have a mini heartbar that stimulates the frog when the hoof is weight baring. So I should see an improvement in hoof growth, quality and in the frog in a few weeks. I will keep updates if you are interested.

If you are interested in the Easywalker horseshoes, you can order some by contacting Mike Barriault at Easywalker Horseshoes Canada, tell him Emilie Valliere sent you! Here is his e-mail address: info@easywalkerhorseshoescanada.com You can read up about EasyWalkers on this website: http://www.easywalkerhorseshoes.com/

These shoes are extremely solid and the wear is equivalent to steel shoes, but they allow the hoof to flex like a natural barefoot hoof would. If your horse is not yet ready to go barefoot and that you don't want to put steel shoes on him, consider these, they are a great alternative and are a good compromise between barefoot and steel shoes. If the instructions are followed, the shoes will not come off no matter the level of work and will work to improve the hoof.

Perfect horse

I was reading today on Equestrian Ink about our perfect horses... and I have so much to say, that I would rather write a blog about it.

How did you guys come upon your perfect horse? What makes him/her perfect?

Dandy is my perfect horse... Frankly, I never thought I was going to keep her, because when I bought her, she was untrained, nearly unhandled and wouldn't do anything calmly. Why did I buy her then??? Well, because I have the biggest heart in the universe and I felt sorry that she was going to a meat auction. When I saw her picture, she was jet black and her conformation pleased me. Dandy has nice straight legs (she stands a little bit under herself sometimes, which I ignored, it's no major flaw), a big hip, long thigh muscles, short cannon bones, nice big feet, a good neckset and headset. The two things that I didn't like (or liked less) was that her back was a bit long and she seemed to have a big head (at two years of age). Well... I can say that her head is still changing and getting SO pretty! and her slightly longer back makes for a very smooth ride!

When I bought her, she looked like crap! I wondered each and every day why I had bought THAT! Her hooves were so long (never trimmed in 2 years) and she wasn't trained. So, I had a 1 000 pounds of horse... untrained. I started to work slowly with a halter and lead, leading around, we did a lot of that. Then I got her used to having her legs touched without needing to pick them up... then I got to picking them up, not an easy task! She would kick, strike, rear, anything but bite! But she was calm and smart.

It didn't take long before I had trimmed all of Dandy's feet, but being in the state they were in, I trimmed every two weeks, not too drastically, but enough to allow change to take place... and it did. I am very proud, but I kick myself for not having taken more pictures of the before feet and the trims in between then and now.

Training Dany under saddle has been a breeze... in fact, the first time that I backed her was bareback with a halter and lead!!! I was working with her and just decided to give it a try, so I hopped on! She kind of froze for a minute, but did nothing. I made her go forward using the kissing noises, she had no clue what leg aids were and got her used to giving to pressure on each side from her halter. I rode for about 10 minutes and she offered to buck twice, but never did. The ongoing training sessions got Dandy in a bit and bridle, on long reins walking around and finaly with a saddle on + long reins.

When I started riding Dandy, she was almost 2.5 years old, we'd done our ground work, there were still things to perfect, but saddle work would help build her muscles to help her learn more difficult things. She had no muscle mass at all! Our first riding sessions lasted only from 10 to 20 minutes, without trotting or cantering and no hills! Dandy was allowed to focus on her balance and moving forward... she used to sway all over the trail from left to right, and she still does sometimes... silly mare! I started to introduce small trots (about 3-4 strides) about a month later and introduced small canters (3-4 strides) in the fall. I would never push her, she would choose to stop when she wanted. I had no problems training her out of stopping when she felt like it.

Dandy is now in her 4th year, going very strong and I love, love, love her to death! I crave riding her, and I daydream about it all the time. She has a nice little trot, a big trot, a WONDERFUL floating canter and a nice quick gallop! The gait I love the most on her is her canter... I would like to tape it to show you, she has HUGE movement, we spend 3/4 of the time in suspension or traveling through the air without touching the ground. It's like being on a BIG rocking horse, the feeling is undescribable, it's AWESOME!

Why do I think that Dandy is my perfect horse?
Dandy is no easy task for anyone else who rides her, she can be very challenging, but I have set the bar for Dandy, I have worked with her all of her life and I have shown her just as much as she has shown me. She completely trusts me and I completely trust her. I have fallen from her once and it wasn't her intention to throw me, I wasn't paying attention and we were cantering down a fenceline, something from the other side slightly spooked her and down I went. She stopped as soon as I fell and I got back on her to get to the barn, as I was injured.

Dandy is my perfect horse, because we understand each other, I no longer have to correct her so much and she comes to greet me and love on me all the time. She knows how much I love her and I know how much she loves me. She also knows how important it is to take care of other people that are on her back, per instance, my little cousin rode Dandy once and my mom (first time rider) takes lessons off of Dandy. I think that Dandy knows when I really feel that it's important for her to behave. My sister has the same riding experience that I do, and Dandy constantly tests her. Must be because I know my sister can handle it!

My plans for Dandy are: Learning leg yields and side passes. but before that, I want to work on her collection and fitness. I might also teach her to Piaffe just for fun. I want to take Dandy to English tack, because she has great potential in that field. I would also like to take her over some jumps. She has free jumped before (on a lungeline) and shows great interest in it, seems to love it, she also has great scope over jumps. In the western branch, I might start her on barrels or western games. She has potential in all fields and since I do not intend on showing her, well, I can pretty much do anything! When the snow melts (and it's pretty much all gone as we speak!!!) I will get Dandy cantering circles to work on collection and holding herself.

Any thoughts about your perfect horses!?

To sell or not to sell?

Don't worry, I am not selling my old mares. They seem to have settled nicely with the herd. Peg has come up lame again, so I am looking for shoes to put on her and Pearl, since Pearl cannot go 2 hours on a hard trail and Peg cannot go anywhere without coming up at least a little bit lame. They are not horses that we use often, merely once every 2-3 weeks, a bit more in the Summer and not at all in the winter. I am looking at urethane shoes, mainly EasyWalker Shoes. They have very good reviews on all the sites I could find about them and their wear compares to a metal shoe. The only difference between those and metal shoes is that they are flexible and allow the hoof to expand and contract with each step. They also have a small heartbar that promotes frog functions. I am sold! In theory, they should allow the hoof to grow faster and of better quality and promotes blood flow in the hoof by soliciting the frog. Basically, they are just like leaving a horse barefoot, without the possibility of them wearing the hoof wall too quickly and going lame.

Another advantage of these shoes is that they are non-slip on asphalt, they absorb concussion MUCH better than metal and that their composition highly resembles the consistency and flexibility of a healthy barefoot hoof. Here is the website if you are ever interested: http://www.easywalkerhorseshoes.com/ They are applied the same way a conventinal shoe is and there are precise instructions for your farrier if there are any doubt. I will try them out and let you know how I feel about them!

Now, moving on to the title of my blog. I have to sell two foals for a friend of mine. I am completely responsible for the sales price, and dealing. We are located in Canada, on the Quebec and Ontario border (yes, quite litteraly!), close to Ottawa. If you, or someone you know are interested, transportation can be negociated. Here is the description of the foals:

One filly (pictured above, sorry for the wet coat, it was raining when I took the pics), sorrel, one white sock on hind left, star and a thin blaze. She is about 10 months old, will be over 15 hh. She has not been handled, but is curious and should be very easy to train. She has a beautiful head and smart eyes. She is 100% paint, out of a buckskin paint mare, from a sorrel tobiano stallion. Both parents are broke to saddle, mom was ridden by a teen, dad is now a full time trail horse. Is not registered, both parents aren't registered. She is fast and agile, should be a good prospect for reining, barrels or hunter/jumper, nice movement. Please ask for price if interested. Serious inquiries only.

One colt, should become Chestnut with flaxen mane and tail. Big blaze, two socks, one on hind left and a small pastern sock on front left. Gorgeous head, nice neck set, very curious. Should mature over 15hh, is now 10 months old. Unhandled but should be easy to train. He is 50% QH and 50% paint. Out of a chestnut w/ Flaxen mane and tail QH mare, from a sorrel tobiano stallion. Parents are broke to saddle and are good trail horses, mom is a broodmare, was broke before, dad is now a full time trail horse. Unregistered, nice movement, should make a great trail horse. Very happy horses. Please ask for price, transportation can be negociated. Serious inquiries only.

I will post more pics at the end of the post. I know you'll probably scold me because these foals are unhandled, but at least they weren't ridden at 10 months (I've seriously seen an add like that yesterday!) They were allowed to be horses and are totally happy. They are very curious and should honnestly be a breeze to train. I am not responsible for those horses, I am only selling them for the owner who is very busy. The stallion has been gelded and is now retired from his breeding career to be a trail horse, doing fantastic! The breeding herd will be reduced and all of the foals to be born will be registered, therefore might be assured a better future. If it was up to me, no mare would be bred this year, but I cannot tell the man what to do. He is conscient that the market is down and will reduce the herd. He will also have to sell his horses for minimal fees, even if the recession hasn't affected our region quite as much, since we are a stone's throw away from the Nation's Capital a demand has been clearly made for registered foals... and coloured... which simply has nothing to do with anything, since conformation is the main part here. These foals are compact with long legs, should excel at pretty much anything! I do not make a dime on these, so I give you the truth to my best knowledge.

Here are more pics of the little ones. They are so cute, even in their winter pyjamas and wet from the rain! Note that they are very healthy, they have spent all winter out with the herd w/ access to a shelter, no known problems.

Little filly, peeking over her little brother's wither! Look at that awesome little face!

Chowin' down, you can see the difference in colour from the filly (closer) and the colt. They are very similar in colour, markings and personnality. I think that giving them grain before taking the picture wasn't such a good idea.... I couldn't get them to look at me if I was doing cartwheels in the field.

Filly in front of colt. The filly stayed there for a bit, little did I know, the colt went around and was sneaking up from behind me... that is how curious they are... next thing I knew, he was right beside me as I was taking other pictures...

In the mean time, these two made their way towards me... they actually left the "horsie" snow trail! The little appaloosa isn't for sale, the daughter of the owner wanted to keep her... and I made an offer to take her if ever he decided to part with her. She looks exactly like the horse I've always wanted!

These horses aren't badly conformated and are quite the lookers in real life. You kind of forget the sorrel colour when watching them move around.

Have a great weekend!

Sunny days!

I am so happy that Spring days are finally upon us. We've had terrific weather for a whole week! Sunshine with temps over 5C. The crew is doing fine. They are now out and about with the horses and Nabisco. I am pleased to say, that everyone is putting up with the other. The cows aren't impressed by Peg and Pearl, even though those two tend to run right through the cow herd. Pisses me off!!!!! But what can you do. For now, they will have to make with what they have!

We went for a ride on Friday (I had off from work!) with Dandy and Peg, my SO and I. Dandy went good, even with her blind eye... I'm saying that because I am now noticing it, she was probably the same way last year. She did good. Peg is always splendid when it comes to riding. Her only flaw, she hates water puddles, streams, lakes, rivers... anyway, you get it! Nothing else is even likely to spook her. So she did fine on our ride, even putting her hooves in small water puddles!!! On the negative side... she came up lame after our ride. I hate this, I get really angry and blame myself for her pain. She was limping a little bit, not too much, but it is still noticeable and it bugs the heck out of me. In the meantime, one of our cows (one that is in-calf) has sprained her rear left pastern... we found her limping accross the field too. She probably ran from a horse and slid on the ice that's... EVERYWHERE! I hate Spring!

So I will be looking into buying horseshoes for Peg and Pearl. I am not looking at conventional metal shoes, but polyurethane shoes. They allow the hoof to flex, are durable and can be installed in the same way a regular metal shoe can. After much reading and studying the process of putting shoes on, I think I could do it myself. If I don't feel confident comes the time to nail them, I will just get a farrier to do it... with my close supervision. I know farriers, and they have a bad rep with me. Most of the ones around my area do a quick, not necessarily good job just to get paid and go trash another horse hoof for an unsuspecting owner that puts all their belief in them. Honnestly, I'd rather do it myself. I'll be taking their measurements this weekend and probably ordering as soon as possible. On the other hand, Dandy's feet are just awesome! She walked on pavement and gravel the whole time and never flinched. On Sunday, I took her out again to lope around the yard and she did great. She can lope on gravel without blinking an eye, she used to live almost exclusively on gravel and is used to running full out on it. I will not push her that much on gravel while riding. Oh yeah, Dandy has now stopped coughing entirely. She had been coughing pretty much all winter, got treated and still coughed occasionally. I've taken her out twice at WTC gallop and she did fine, not even a sign of coughing! I was very pleased!

On another happy note, we've started to see signs of a coming calving in Nabisco. We expect the calf to be born in a week or so. I will, of course, provide a gazillion photos of the newborn when he is born. So stay tuned!

New Crew

What a weekend! I am exhausted! The weather around here has been nasty (to say the least) for the past week! It has been either snowing or raining (or a mix of both) the entire time!!!!!!! Needeless to say that there is water and drenched snow EVERYWHERE!

Poor horses have a water hole as big as the barn that somewhat "prevents" them from going into the shelter.... I'm saying """prevent""" because Dandy will walk right into water of any depth to cross and go wherever she wants... but the old girls will not put a hoof in it! They are determined to not cross water of any kind and spend most of their time going around the water hole to get food and a drink. At least they get more exercise than before! LOL!

I HATE Spring, I can't stand it. I'm so miserable comes Spring that I could just sit and cry all the time! Everything is muddy or wet, the manure is starting to come out from under the snow and every square inch is full of it! Of course, I would clean it, but considering the amount of mud underneath, it would ruin a good part of our pasture... at least good pasture for late summer.

So besides from that, we've spent all day Saturday to a cattle auction. We are looking to expand our herd (since we only have one lonely cow) and we came home with 4 more cows, all in calf exept for one... I wasn't too thrilled about that, she was sold as "in calf" but there was a mix up in the pen and turns out she wasn't... I was POed and finaly dealt a better price on the open cow. We will have her bred as soon as we can. So here are the results of our spending spree!

This is the cow that is not bred and is also the cow that has the most flaws, see how her back isn't straight (OK, one flaw!). We wouldn't have bought her, but the cattle were sold in pairs usually a not so stunning animal with a stunning one. She did calve before, so there shouldn't be any problems.

Next one from the back is our First calf Heifer. She is 3 months in her pregnancy, we call her Speedy because she is so agile and quick! The one closest to me is the cow we bought with the one that is not pregnant, she is a gorgeous example of the breed. They are all Red Angus and Gilbvieh (spelling??) mix and are bred to Charolais.

And... last but not least... This is for sure one of the biggest cows I have ever seen! She is so thick that her belly is less than a foot off of the ground she is very calm and kept making faces every time I took a picture... hence the tongue! She is missing a bit of her tail and she is obviously the leader of the group. She is a bit darker in colour than her friends. I don't have their names, but they must be registered somewhere... I will look it up!

The new cows have not been out in the pasture yet, they are in quarantine inside until we know they are calm enough to romp with the crew, they are all vaccinated, dewormed and vet checked. They've all met Dandy and seem ok with her. The old mares didn't bother to make it over to meet them and will probably chase them a bit.

Sadly, I am thinking about giving those two away. As much as I love them, they do not get along with anything else but themselves, no cows, no Dandy. Dandy is pretty much always on her own and she is not allowed access to food until they are both done eating. I am not pleased with that... poor Dandy is so harmless that she is not even getting mad at them... she is the kind to try and still be part of their group. Even when we had 8 horses in the field, the two Standards never made friends with any of them. I would hate to have to part with them, but I am thinking about it. Makes my eyes water. :'( I love those two with all my heart, but they can really grind my gears sometimes! We might reconfigure the pens to have the horses together and the cows together, not mixed up, although they are still doing ok. I am really sad at the thought and it is going to be one heck of a hard decision to make.