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>