Sorry, I totally forgot!!!

As you can tell, I forgot to post. Now I suppose this has turned from a blog, to a personal diary, that you can read, IF you just so happen to stumble across my nestled little bi-yearly writings.
So alot has happened in the last 6 almost 7 hectic months. Poco has definitely matured, in some ways more that others.
We have been riding alot, mostly outside our little confined space, which means alot of fun!
But the most exciting thing that happened was we figured out that Poco was not, in fact, a gelding colt, but a very-very-mature stallion.
We pondered the idea of keeping him as a stud, which proved-after several dealings with other horses-hard, because of the nature of a stallion.
So last Friday, the vet, Mr. Pat Regier-an awesome vet i might add-came out to our place and gelded the poor fellow. Lets just say Poco's lonely now, quite quite lonely, missing his two friends.
But it was an amazing experience seeing how fast the sedatives worked, how he wrapped his leg and how Poco got up looking like an awkward newborn foal just taking his first steps. 
But I am very excited and I hope I can still write some more on my "Blog".

i love you-- ;)ME

I have no clue what i should title this!

Hi guys :)
I actually rode poco the other day! I sat on him while tay led him around for a bit.
It has been really windy for the last two days, so i cant really ride in the wind :(

anyways. Happy late valentines!
Who was your valentine? mine was, of course, Poco <3 :)

love ya!

im so sorry! But i have great news!!

 I'm sorry for not writing in a while :( But i have great news!
I rode poco today! So heres how it went:
I kept putting him off and fearing the day that i had to sit on the tall horse and get bucked off because i was too chicken to get on when he was young, so i bucked up(no pun intended) and decided i would ride. Yesterday.
I was going to yesterday, but i woke up after having a good dream about riding him, and i looked out the window, thats when everything went downhill. It was muddy and wet, so it gave me a pretty good excuse not to ride. No, i was not being a wuss because of mud, it was because the footing was like trying to run uphill after a mudslide, you try it, not so fun, is it now :) So anyways,no riding yesterday.
This morning i awoke to a slightly dryer, still mudslide-like weather day and tried to figure out what i was going to do. I have a paddock, and then a small, 40x10 foot "round" pen area that i feed in and do some small ground work in, and this is covered by moist hay, so it had great footing, and it gave me no excuse for not riding.
So i got together the halter, lead, reins and my mounting block and stepped up to the plank.
I brought brooks to hold onto Poco so if anything could happen, brooks could help.
Things didn't start as good as i had planned. He wouldn't come to me when i called, so i had to trek through the MUD and go get him, leading him by a carrot(daisnaid=do as i say, not as i do), i was stupid when i did this, so when something happened behind me, and he kinda spooked into a canter, i ran for the security of the fence while he slid to a stop in front of me. My adrenaline pumping, i gathered the courage to catch him, just when he decides to be sneaky and not let me. So i calmed him and finally caught him, and caught my breath :)
So I got on the mounting block to start laying my weight on him, but was too nervous. I stood there, with half my weight on him for a few minutes, while i "waited for him to calm down" when it was really me who needed calming down. I finally got up enough gumption to swing my leg over. So i said a short prayer and swung it up. Balancing myself onto his raised-backboney back(he's not skinny, just has a slightly raised backbone, as with any horse) i sat there, taking deep breaths. He took a few, un-wanted steps forward, but was steadied by brooks, and by me pulling slightly back :)
I sat on him and it felt wonderful. it was like a dream!
I slipped off after a minute of sitting there and flung my shaky arms around his neck, crying.
I took off the halter and floated into the house, and then screamed to my family!
I wanted to ride again, but there was not much room to move, and we had to go running, so i didn't get the chance.
Some of you know about this already, but for those of you who dont, Last year, i got my first horse. I was greener than grass in the middle of spring! I had NO clue what i was doing! neither did my horse! So, lets just say i was very traumatized after being bucked, stepped on, kicked, and hurt right in the heart so many times. So when i say im scared to ride, I have a good reason. Thunder was a terrible hurt, but a great learning experience. I now know more than i ever would have if i didn't get him in the first place. So please do not judge and give me some slack, i was(am) young! :P



All in all, it was a very productive day, and i hope tomorrow will be the same :)
<3 <3

Im almost riding!

so today i worked with poco. he's doing ok. I need to work him EVERYDAYYYYY so that he's all brushed up for when i actually ride him(next month)
Yep. i dont really have much to say... :+)
love you guys!

New Blog :D New Business

I am officially taking business now. The name of the business is "waggin tails pet services" And the logo is "Where a waggin' tail is a happy tail!"
Lol. So i am taking business now, tell your friends, i service everything except reptiles. I will walk dogs, set pets and i am kinda thinking about selling treats.
you can visit my blog at:
www.waggintailspetservices.blogspot.com
and click follow for updates, prices and contacts! :)

It was icky today. What a suprise!

all day today it wag foggy,gloomy, wet and cold :( So i didn't get a chance to do anything with my horse. So tomorrow i have alot to do, pick up his feet, practice bowing, lunge,saddle,bridle, back, etc etc. So i will be busy with him tomorrow...
i am getting ready to go to sleep, love you all!
Tip#9:
When you are riding, and your horse starts to run to the barn(barn sour) or paddock, dont panic, the best thing you can do is try and pull one rein around to touch your hip, to make and attempt to gain control of this fleeing panicky mess of a horse. If you succeed in stopping or turning him around, calm him to a halt. Give him a rest, and pet, and then slowly, quietly walk him away from the barn. Get off and let him rest and make away from the barn an easy fun time.
When you reach the barn, act like normal, don't tense or even think about if he's going to do it or not. If he speeds, check him(pull and release the reins) until he slows. If he moves faster, lean forward and hold on. Zig Zag him up to the barn, do circles and try to make him walk. Once you get there and he starts acting up, kick him into a canter and run him in tight circles and zig zag and change direction. Really make him work. After a couple minutes doing this, turn him away from the barn and walk him. Away from the barn is a rest, the barn is work. Then he will see it more desirable to be away from the barn and not always RUN RUN RUN all the way back to the barn.
If you have tried this and it didn't work, comment and tell me. I have other solutions for other circumstances.

Gloomy day... :(

so i didnt get to spend much time with poco today due to the weather. I did pick up his feet, practice bowing and we picked up some hay for him.
I have been researching starting a pet sitting business. I want to, and they say it makes alot of income. Then only thing im worried about is creepy people. (e.g weird men....) lol :) but I hope to get it started, and when i do, i will post the website url on here and tell you about it.
Comment and let me know what you think about names, Kateys pet sitting, Happy Tails Pet sitting, Wagn' tails pet sitting business.. anything like that.
Thanks for commenting and click follow.
THANKS!!! ;)

Trick Pony

I taught the beginning steps of bowing to Poco today. He did really well! He took the treats and he started to bow.
I then began the steps of lift his foot on command. I squeeze the tendon and say "Lift!" and he picks it right up! I'm so proud of himmm!!!!!!
I am going to get more advanced tomorrow. We'll do real bowing. Not just the practice stuff. I cant wait to ride, cause i am going to teach him the spanish walk.
Tip#8:
when picking up the feet, face the back of the horse, (e.g his left shoulder and your left shoulder touching) then bend and squeeze the tendon just above the fetlock(the "bump" just above the hoof) and energetically say "Lift!". If he fails to lift, keep squeezing and continue saying "lift!" every three seconds. After he lifts, rest his knee on yours and with your left hand push his toe upward, bending at the "ankle". Then pick with your right hand from the bulb (the back of the foot) to the toe(the front of the hoof). If he trys to pull it away, HOLD ON TO IT! Dont let go! If you think he's going to trip, you can let go, but most likely he is just bratting around and wanting his stability. Make sure you put as much of the leg on yours so that he has alot of support, my horse would pull it away simply because he didn't like the feeling of no support.
Also, tie him short, just today, i didn't tie a good enough knot and it pulled, so he reached around and bit me on the...bum.
So tie short and high.

keep the comments coming and let me know if you have any questions.
<3 you! :)

stiiillllll sick!

so i slept in till 1:00 pm today :) ahhhh good ole sleep! but its saturday, i can afford to sleep in, cant I?
I wish i wasnt sick though. Im feeling a bit better,so i think im going to go out and brush Poco. I miss him :'(
I am still watching the saddle club :) I think ive watched all of season one and two. its funny re-watching them. lol
So i guess i'll go now. love you all!
tip#7:
When riding, and you have a horse with a broken stop button, cruise him, (put him into a gait and dont steer) and when he breaks the gait(goes to fast) do a one rein stop, then go again. Do this every day for at least a few days, and you'll notice a huge difference in your stop button :)

hmmm

Am I allowed to blog two posts on one day? :) I'm making a new rule.
I'm bored, but its dark outside, i miss my horse and since ive been watching the saddle club, I want to ride my horse even more! I went out earlier to feed him, and i was standing on the fence, and suddenly I felt like if I jumped onto his back he wouldn't care. I imagined how it would feel riding poco when he's big. He's supposed to be around 16HH tall, but i hope he'll be taller :)
I started to think how great thats going to feel. I kept on petting his back, wishing that I was riding right then, but if I was riding all the time, I wouldn't bond properly. 50% of bonding is brushing, caring, and just spending time with them. So instead of wishing I was riding, I just thought about when I will be riding next month.
Next month is when I get to start sitting on him, then in march I can actually ride him. I love the feeling of being scared, but so excited that I just want to flip! I am SO looking forward to that. mm! I'm getting excited just thinking about it! lol I love riding so much and I am so encouraged to practice trotting and cantering, and then maybe a gallop or two :)
I'm going to wake up in the morning and be all fired up about it. When I go to sleep excited, I sure double the excitement in the night ;)
I love you all!

Sick. Ick. What else rymes?

So I'm sick with the cold. I've sneezed my brain out twice, I've watched like six million episodes of the saddle club, and I've used two boxes of Kleenex's... Ok! so maybe its not that bad, but i cant see my horse, how much worse could that be?
When i get better, i am going to teach him how to bow. what you do is get a treat, and you put it in through the back of the horses front legs, and show it to him, and he will stick his head in between his legs and bend at least one knee to get to the treat. you can also give a verbal command like "Down" or "Bow" and then if you are short and you have a tall horse(me and Poco ;) ) you can make him bow by verbal command, and then he will be shorter for you to get up on :) Its very helpful. I am also (when i begin to ride in the next two months) going to teach him to lay down so you can get off and on, and then a little one could get on really easy :)
heres a link for both of those:
bowing one;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyGnY6ey7KY&feature=related
laying one;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1SMB_Rdkh8&feature=related
So this one you only have to watch until 0:55. im going to teach him a different way, without all of the ropes and stuff, but you get the just of it. I am going to pick up his front left foot, and bend his neck to his right, thus bringing his weight onto the leg thats not there(the one that im holding) and he will lay down. I will at the same time tell him "Lay down". Then i can just tell him "lay down" while im riding, and then he will be able to do it then too :)

My gramma is really sick and in intensive care.grammy is in intensive care with Pneumonia, her white blood cells, her platelets and red blood cells are all down, and she hasn't gotten much better. Pray for her, they are worried that she might get something else because all of her blood counts are wrong.

love you guys! :)
<3

Hooves trimmed and pretty

All went well and I am very proud to say that there were no struggles and Poco stood very still. :) I love my horsie poo! :) lol he's come a long way from the first time. lol :D
So i guess i'll write more tomorrow.
<3 you!

Farrier

Poco's getting his feet trimmed today. At 2:00pm. So i am awaiting that with writing on my blog and my story. I am hoping to get this one published :)
So i guess i will post updates on how the feet trimming went. I guess thats it! love you guys tons!
Tip#6:
When lunging, dont let your horse get to close, if he spooks, you could be kicked, or he could step on you, trust me, it HURTS! So if you feel uncomfortable where he's at, push on his neck with the end of your whip, and aggressively step towards him, he might kick out a little, but as long as you are asserting dominance and telling him that he is NOT aloud to come into your space, you are better than you were.
:) thanks and comment

A sulky day turned good :)

Ok, so im mixing things up today! i changed the font and the size :)
I was outside for most of today. Getting attacked by chickens, Feeding my horse, scooping poop, grooming him, feeding cats.Just your general franch work. Whats a franch you ask? Its a combo of Ranch(which has horses) and farm, (which has chickens, and cats and other animals like that)
I got attacked by our mean rooster too. HE'S DOWN RIGHT NASTY! I was trying to get the chickens into they're house, and he came a runnin up to me, and bounced into me and pecked me. so i stood there motionless(which is what your supposed to do if one attacks you) and he quit after a while.
Poco was a good boy today. He stood still while i brushed him for no reason because the snow i was taking away was replaced with two times that. But i brushed his tail and mane and everything. So I did that then i let him go, and began scooping the hay into one big pile, then all the poop to a pile.
Then i spent more time with him. Poco is EVERYTHINGGGGG, I wove him.
lol
<3>

Goodday mates!

I've been watching the saddle club today. Its an Australian horse series that i totally love! its all about horses and girls!!
We've lost a follower :( too bad. lol
It was warm today. i think it was in the 30's and 40's. haha, but i didnt get to work with poco today, so i dont have much to write about. :) but on the bright side, i still have the tip column.
Tip#5:
When riding, and you have an aggressive rearer(as in they werent afraid when they reared), DONT PULL BACK! you will cause him to flip over back ward. Dont kick him forward either, your obviously not going to get him anywhere. When he comes back down spank him into a fast trot or canter, work him in circles, strait, jump him, make him work. If you've fallen already, grab the reins and lunge him quickly before his feet stop moving, if you've failed to do either of these, get back on ASAP and ride alot, you can even dare to put him in the rearing situation again, and then correct him, teaching him that its not his option whether he gets to rear, thats for pastures and playmates only.

Pocos Feeding Ration

hi,
so i wanted to let you know what i feed poco every morning and evening, and how it worked wonders on that skinny little thing!
so, what we used to do was just feed him free hay(all he can eat) but we noticed he wasnt gaining any weight. so we decided to put him on grain, so heres the ration that we used:
one scoop(32 oz.) corn
one scoop chopped alfalfa
one scoop sweet feed
and one thirds cup canola oil (for coat, hoof, and mane strength)
plus free hay
And he gained tons of weight. But, he was loosing the weight if i gave him just a little less. So i changed the ration and heres what it was:
one scoop alfalfa cubes
one scoop oats
one scoop corn
one scoop performance feed.
but this was costing a lot of money, alfalfa was $10,oats $11,corn $6, and performance is $12 for 50 pound bags that last about a week and a half, (if i go easy) so i fed that to him for a month, and he gained his needed weight, and he hasnt lost any, so i took the alfalfa cubes away, because he didnt need them anymore.
Tip #4:
If your thinking about getting a horse, first see if you can feed him, can you afford to get him hay? which for a good bale of brome is up to $30. And can you pay for the vet bills. You may not need to take him to the vet for just a check up, but what if your mare is unexpectedly having a foal? what if your stallion see's another mare and goes crazy and crashes through a fence? all of these needs professional care. So if you are thinking about getting a horse, be prepared for anything.

Cold Cold :(

Hey guys!
Its really cold! 5 degrees...
So of course my horses water was frozen, so i had to break that, and i had to hand cart more water out there. bucket by bucket, only for it to freeze a couple hours from now. doesnt cold weather stink?! its all work and no play! Plus i had to give the birds water, and food, only for THEM to knock it over two minutes later, so another bucket, there it went.
Oh, this morning i woke up and mom asked me, "did you hear the roosters?" and i said "no." (to read the full story why we have roosters in our house, go to www.petfabulous.blogspot.com ) and then a few minutes later i hear "COCKADOODLEDOO!!!! COCKADOODLEDOOOOO!!!" loud and clear from two little roosters in our basement. Just so you know, they are not roaming the house, pooping all over, they are in a nice cozy big box with food and water and are being checked on frequently. lol so i am most certainly NOT a hillbilly....am i?

:)
Tip #3:
when its cold, and you dont have a shelter. Get two hay bales, and sit them side by side, then he can lay down on either side of them for a wind break. Also, get a coat to put on him, it doesn't necessarily have to be thick thick, just something to keep the snow and rain off his back.

hellp!!

hey,
i tried posting a video and i cant. any help? thanks

Ok so i was told to write longer posts to keep people interested, sooooo heres the tip column!

Tip#2
When feeding, if you have a bossy pushy horse, back him up before you put the feed into the trough, and then when he has a good attitude (e.g ears not back, not stomping feet etc) Give him a pet and pat the trough or feeding bin and click to him, telling him that its ok that he comes into your space. If he doesnt settle down, remove the feed, and a few minutes later come back and try again. Its very simple for you and your horse. And it will pay off in the future, trust me! ;)

Old Poco, New Poco

Ok, So i wanted to tell you the history of Poco.
The First four pictures are on the first day. as you can see, he is badly beaten up and very skinny. He was taken from his original home, where he was born, and brought to a mans house for 1 or 2 weeks. In that time he starved Poco down to the bones, and allowed the other horses to beat up on him and bite him. His feet were also badly splayed and had never been trimmed (feet are supposed to be trimmed in the first week of life)
In the next three pictures, we had had him for a few weeks. We hadn't found the right farrier yet, so his feet had not been trimmed, only picked up and cleaned out. As you can see, he had gained alot of weight, and his wounds were healing nicely. 
In the last two pictures, (taken just the other day) He has gained all the weight he needed to, we've had his feet trimmed and they are no longer splayed, and his wounds are completely gone. all within 3 1/2 months. 
Now he is loved, being trained, and has a forever home, with the people he loves.

Thanks!

a Big thanks to Alex ( behindthelens.blogspot.com ) for helping me change my blog editor. i had it on "Edit HTML" instead of "Compose" So i clicked "Compose" and it fixed it! thanks Al for the help with that, now i should be able to add pictures!
So it is late right now, but i will add some pictures tomorrow and tell you my horses history. Thanks for following!

going to wichita

Going down to wichita.gotta leave poco :( anybody know how to add pictures to the new updated version?

Big day, Big Day

So today i worked with Poco, I long lined him for the first time ever! He did pretty well, but just wanted to pivot and look at me :) Practice makes perfect, so i need to practice practice practice!
I also got pretty much into the saddle and he was just standing there lol. he has such a great disposition! I love him <3
I have been meaning to add a tip paragraph to every post i make, so here goes!
Tip#1
For those of you that have troubles with there horse coming to them.
Every time you go outside to feed, give water, or just spend time with, take a delicious wonderful treat(my horse likes sugar cubes) with you, and give it to him, before he can step away, walk off, cool as a cucumber.
Do this a few times a day, and soon he'll be begging for attention. then after giving him the treats for a little, start completely ignoring him. dont pet him, give him a treat, dont even look at him. he's so curious(as a horse) he'll be following you out the gate! after about a day or two of doing this everytime you want to catch him, start just giving him one pet, then leaving. then for the next couple of days, pet him and pay attention to him, but make sure that you leave him first. dont let him ignore you, its a bad habit.
trust me, my horse used to be evasive when it came to catching time. dont let them get away with it!
Dont forget to click the links in the sidebar and keep the comments coming!
also, if you guys have blogs, give me questions, and ideas for blogs and animals! :) love you guys!

papa johns...cold weather

I don't like cold weather. But, my horse is warm because I put a blanket on him last night. :)
we are getting papa johns pizza. Mm!
i will add pictures in a little.
lol...
don't forget to click the links on the side bar! Thanks :)

is it popssible to die of bordom?

So I'm in target right now. Bored to death without my horse :( boring....

New Record! yeeah baby!

I am the first blogger EVER to have 27 million followers on the first day!

Obviously i am kidding. BUT! That was all i could blog about because ya'll arent doing your jobs. You arent inviting friends. You arent clicking follow. you arent commenting. I may just have to shut this blog down....
Ok, so i challenge you, to get me 5 more viewers by the end of the month, or i am going to personally come to your house and beat you up...JUST KIDDING! :) haha. seriously. invite your friends! even if they say no, you tried!!!

So my horse is cold.because its 15 degrees outside. he's not very happy. BUT! his heart is warm when he thinks of me!!! :'( touching huh? ;)

goodnight.

Pictures

Here are some pictures of Poco that i took today.
Yep. he's a cutie pie!
he wouldnt hold still, so i had to keep moving, so some of the pictures arent very good. but it gives you a general idea... sorry they are sideways. i couldnt figured out how to change them..... lol
i had so much trouble loading these that it wasnt even funny! so you better like them! ;)

I'm Baa-aack! : )

hello
I'm back from working with Poco.
Sometimes, i will admit, i get very angry at him. its like i know he understands what i want him to do, but willingly disobeys me. but, none the less, i was victorious! :) i made him do right, and i ended on a good note.
And i got some pictures.
So i am waiting to ride! in feb i get to mount up and rideee! :D im so excited.

So, anybody got any questions about their horse? I can help. :P

Hello!

Hi,
This is my new blog. You can visit my other one at www.petfabulous.blogspot.com
This blog is for my horse. His name is Poco. Well, full name is Zan Parr Poco Debar, but for short, Poco :) he is my baby! he's 22 months old. I am currently training him and i will give you tips on some things i learned. I will post pictures, and if possible, videos.

Thats the basics :)
Well, i got some things i need to do, then i'll be right back ;)
dont forget to comment with questions, answers and anything else you'd like to put!