Wednesday, April 23, 2014

100 days of training

100 Days of Training

Opal still has some winter fluff to lose.

Days 98/99:

These days were spent working on ground manners with Opal.  I'm not sure if it was the wind, or spring fever, but her manners got left in her pasture.  Hey, we all have off days, right?  We practiced standing at the tie pole and not dancing around.  It didn't take long for the lights to come on upstairs.  Opal still has a lot of coat to shed, most of the barn seems to be ready for warmer weather with their summer coats, but both Opal and Ehawee are still fluffy to some degree.  Daily grooming just helps build a stronger bond, so I don't mind.

 Opal wants to report that there were not nearly enough carrots in my pockets while she had to stand at the tie pole.  She leads a 'tough' life.


100 training sessions later:

With the weather improving (I say that as a big storm is starting to roll in...sigh) Greg, owner of the mustang Amigo, and I decided to roll the dice on a very windy day and hit the trail for the first time this year.  Aside from the wind, it was a lovely day for a ride.  Not to mention a much needed one for me to decompress - sewer line had to be replaced and it took nearly 5 weeks to get it done, yeah, that wasn't stressful at all.  Anyways, we decided to try Round Valley for our ride.  We chose wisely.  Since the trail is tucked against the hills, there was little to no wind.  The creek was even flowing and full of tadpoles!  Opal just wanted to play in the water, but Amigo took some working with, but in the end, even he was walking and playing in the water.
 
Loaded and ready to hit the road.

We started off walking our horses in hand, Opal had never been on this trail and while it wasn't very windy, there are lots of big oak trees around with the potential to loose branches.  We also encountered some cattle which Opal seemed interested in.  Once I knew she was on with the cattle, I found a rock and mounted up to ride her back to the trailer.  We got lots of play time in the water and she even trotted a bit on the trail with ease.  Truth be told, while she was well mannered in hand as we walked the trail, she was much better when I was up in the saddle.  She was happy to just plow along the trail.  It was a perfect first outing for the season.


While it was breezy, it was warm.  Opal's mane was braided to help keep her cool.








Monday, April 7, 2014

CMC Horsemanship is live

CMC Horsemanship is live



Part of March was 'lost' in the construction of my training website.  It's up and running now and I'm very excited about this chapter in my life.  I love working with horses and their owners to help them reach their goals together as a team.  Stop on by! 

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Where did March go?

Where did March go?

Lots of fluff coming off.


Days 96/97(I'm going to stop counting at day 100):
 
I was out of town visiting family for a few days, then we got rain...and even more rain.  I know we need it, but its been cutting into my horsey time.  Oh well.
 
Opal is loosing all of her winter fluff.  Finally!  I thought I might have to shave her down if she didn't start soon.  We worked on ground tying today, because she seemed to have totally forgotten how to in the last week.  The three mares (Opal, Ehawee, and Satin who is owned by Sarah and is in the pasture with my girls) got turned out into the arena today to run and play.  There was a huge puddle in it, and they eventually took to playing in it.  Satin and Ehawee romped and ran, while Opal stood by me as I took pictures.  She could not be bothered by their shananagains.  
 
 

Having fun in the arena.



Left: Opal started the water play, and Satin decided to show her how it was done.  
As you can see as you go from left to right, Opal didn't want to deal with these shenanigans.





 She also didn't want to deal with those shenanigans either.


Both Opal and Ehawee have been getting lounged as well a few times a week.  They don't always want to listen and often want to talk to the other boys at the ranch if they are out....Mares!
 
 
 Ehawee jumping barrels.
 
 
Opal working in the round pen.