Our Horses.......
Shae, the Irish Draught
"Mr Shamous Oreilly" hehehe ! (Shae) is my main back country riding horse, I have had him for five years now and has become a very surefooted and bombproof horse.
He is also used as a pack horse from time to time.
Shae is a 17 hand, 9 year old, Irish Draught.
Being of Irish decent,he is full of character. !
He loves chocolate, jelly beans, peanuts, beer, ..your lunch.., infact anything not guarded will probably end up inside shaes stomach.
At lunch time on treks he is like a large orange "blow fly" you can shoo him away but he right back wanting my sandwich.. which he often seems to get with his persistence..lol
At camp he often invites himself inside the hut to check out what we are up to.!
I wouldnt be surprised to find him kipping on one of the hut bunks if he thought he could get away with it..(smilies)
One evening while a bunch of us riders were sitting outside the hut around the camp fire enjoying a beer, shae was sniffing around and picked up a friends half consumed beer bottle in his teeth, tipped his head up and the contents was swallowed..he dropped the bottle and his upper lip shot up...hehehe..Typical of the Irish...!
They all like their beers...lol
He is also used as a pack horse from time to time.
Shae is a 17 hand, 9 year old, Irish Draught.
Being of Irish decent,he is full of character. !
He loves chocolate, jelly beans, peanuts, beer, ..your lunch.., infact anything not guarded will probably end up inside shaes stomach.
At lunch time on treks he is like a large orange "blow fly" you can shoo him away but he right back wanting my sandwich.. which he often seems to get with his persistence..lol
At camp he often invites himself inside the hut to check out what we are up to.!
I wouldnt be surprised to find him kipping on one of the hut bunks if he thought he could get away with it..(smilies)
One evening while a bunch of us riders were sitting outside the hut around the camp fire enjoying a beer, shae was sniffing around and picked up a friends half consumed beer bottle in his teeth, tipped his head up and the contents was swallowed..he dropped the bottle and his upper lip shot up...hehehe..Typical of the Irish...!
They all like their beers...lol
Bailey, the Standardbred
"Bailey boy" started out life as a racehorse, but unfortunately he was too slow on the track so his prize for this was to go to the dog meat man.
We managed, thru a friend to rescue him from his fate and today he is our little pack horse.
I just threw the pack saddle on him one day and loaded him up and he took to it like a duck to water.
Once loaded he is happy just walking along totally free behind the rest of the horses all day long, he is one tough little guy, and has shown to be surefooted in the short time we have packed him.
Bailey is bout 14.2 hand, 8 year old standardbred and so cute...!
Outside the race track , standardbreds are so under rated... Until Bailey arrived I had had little experience of the breed.
Bailey, is a horse that is easy to train to new things, is accepting and willing to try...
A few weeks ago I backed him after a short time of ground work with little issue..
Friends have recently got another one off the track after seeing Baileys progress, with the intent of also using their boy as a pack horse..
Update
This is Baileys second season as a pack horse and although he is a little guy when it comes to a packhorse size, he has learnt to really become calm and surefooted.
On a recent trek he was crossing a steep sided creek fully loaded when the bank gave way and he fell down and for a couple moments couldnt get his feet back under him to get up.. he just stopped and waited for me to get off my horse and help him .. I was amazed how calm he remained..
Then a few days later, on the return trip out over the Fowler Pass fully loaded, he lead the way ,loose, up the zig zag like a pro... I was amazed again.....
STANDARDBREDS rock........... We have just completed a further 9 day trek that was taxing and a real challenge, but Bailey with his packload seemed to handle it all with ease... what an amazing horse..
Today Fiona and I took Bailey and Mr Cons to the beach, I saddled Bailey, hopped on and rode him for an hour.. thats the first time I have been on him for around a year and only the second time he has been ridden outside the round pen.. What a horse..!
Bailey has been ridden on two longer 15 odd kilometre rides since last post, and is learning leg aids.... Riding with a friend yesterday, she commented that Bailey looked as if he had been a riding horse for years,, he doesnt put a foot wrong, even tho this is only a very green riding horse...
It will be good to have Bailey rideable now on treks, both to ride on the odd day rides out from camp, but more importantly to be able to be ridden in emergencies on treks, such as with the recent saga with Shae...
This trekking season Bailey has pack loaded over 700 kilometres of mountain trails and Passes, all without faulter... Impressive in any mans language...
We managed, thru a friend to rescue him from his fate and today he is our little pack horse.
I just threw the pack saddle on him one day and loaded him up and he took to it like a duck to water.
Once loaded he is happy just walking along totally free behind the rest of the horses all day long, he is one tough little guy, and has shown to be surefooted in the short time we have packed him.
Bailey is bout 14.2 hand, 8 year old standardbred and so cute...!
Outside the race track , standardbreds are so under rated... Until Bailey arrived I had had little experience of the breed.
Bailey, is a horse that is easy to train to new things, is accepting and willing to try...
A few weeks ago I backed him after a short time of ground work with little issue..
Friends have recently got another one off the track after seeing Baileys progress, with the intent of also using their boy as a pack horse..
Update
This is Baileys second season as a pack horse and although he is a little guy when it comes to a packhorse size, he has learnt to really become calm and surefooted.
On a recent trek he was crossing a steep sided creek fully loaded when the bank gave way and he fell down and for a couple moments couldnt get his feet back under him to get up.. he just stopped and waited for me to get off my horse and help him .. I was amazed how calm he remained..
Then a few days later, on the return trip out over the Fowler Pass fully loaded, he lead the way ,loose, up the zig zag like a pro... I was amazed again.....
STANDARDBREDS rock........... We have just completed a further 9 day trek that was taxing and a real challenge, but Bailey with his packload seemed to handle it all with ease... what an amazing horse..
Today Fiona and I took Bailey and Mr Cons to the beach, I saddled Bailey, hopped on and rode him for an hour.. thats the first time I have been on him for around a year and only the second time he has been ridden outside the round pen.. What a horse..!
Bailey has been ridden on two longer 15 odd kilometre rides since last post, and is learning leg aids.... Riding with a friend yesterday, she commented that Bailey looked as if he had been a riding horse for years,, he doesnt put a foot wrong, even tho this is only a very green riding horse...
It will be good to have Bailey rideable now on treks, both to ride on the odd day rides out from camp, but more importantly to be able to be ridden in emergencies on treks, such as with the recent saga with Shae...
This trekking season Bailey has pack loaded over 700 kilometres of mountain trails and Passes, all without faulter... Impressive in any mans language...
Gizzy, the Gisborne Stationbred....
Being a Gisborne Stationbred, Gizzy is well built for trekking and although still a teenager has a good amount of bone and muscle development as well as tough feet already.
Gizzy is a 15.2 hand, 5 year old X bred.
With this new and unbroken horse, I want to educate him gradually, introducing him to our cues, and his wider surroundings first, then start him under the packsaddle for a while, and once he is both confident and competent, I will start him under riding saddle..
This way he has time to take in each stage of his development rather than starting him under saddle straight away and having to learn all this as well as contending with traffic and things that go bump in the night..so to speak. all at the same time..
This is Gizzys story.......
He has settled in nicely, and have been able to introduce him to being covered,and having his feet picked up without him being tied, Trust is the thing I am working on currently..
He had his feet trimmed a week ago and just stood there,
Gizzy is now being led out, road riding from another horse frequently, is learning and accepting our cues and seems largely unphased by most country traffic passing him, thanks to him taking the lead from the other traffic conditioned horse, so he is coming along beautifully with little fuss in this area...
Log trucks loaded and on dusty shingle roads do unnearve a horse as they approach but he is getting more and more used to them..
Out on the roadside rides I always keep the riding horse between Gizzy and the traffic, so he can see that the experienced horse is not at all concerned by what ever is approaching in front or from behind.. This is a great reassuring tool for the young horse.....Currently being summer, we have quiet an array of large tractors with hay making gear attached with orange flashing lights passing us on the road.. all these are big and scary, but he is coping very well...
Lately on return from the outings and inside the gate up the long drive, I turn Gizzy loose, and just carry on walking my riding horse up the drive.. Gizzy has been funny, he will drop his head and start eating and stays put for a while as we continue to walk away.. I call his name to "come on".... he watches as he eats and next he is off galloping up the drive towards us..While Gizzy is in his learning phase he is paddock grazed with the riding horse all the time, and learns that if his mate is walking away from him combined with my voice cue he is learning to be both "free" and roughly stay with us.. Horses eventually just walk along free where ever we go, but it takes time..!
Over time as he comes to accept all the country traffic, I will swap sides so Gizzy will be on the traffic side, still with the reassurance of the other horse beside him, and continue like this... By the time he is ready for his starting under riding saddle, he will already be accustomed to all of his surroundings. creating the start to a safe and eventually a bombproof style of versatile horse....
I have introduced him to ground, and lead work along with bagging him every couple of days and as long as we work quietly he is accepting of everything in this phase....
Where possible a lot of Gizzys training ( and for that matter all my other trekking horses) is conducted in an open paddock, with either the lead rope dangling off his halter onto the ground or having no lead rope at all. I have two reasons behind this, one is that he learns to stand and trust me knowing that he can if he wishes run off, if things become tooooooooo scary, in which I adjust the level of that particular training... for example, initially covering him....loose in the paddock... I talk quietly and show him the cover, and gradually place it against him, then slowly place it on his back and finally roll it out over him... its scary initially and he knows he can run off, but doing it slowly he is happy to stand...he doesnt feel trapped.. once introduced to each new thing I ask him to stand still.... free, while I pick up each leg, or quietly run the scary noisy plastic bag attached to a long pole all over him.. its trust as well as desensitising we are teaching him.... secondly.... all my trekking horses are trained eventually to run free with us on treks, and work to my voice cue.. if a horse has grown up with the security of a rope attached to its halter they will just run off on treks if let loose.. my horses become conditioned over time not to rely on the halter rope as a security item.. it makes them more indepentant, confident and a sense of belonging in the team....
This second point can been seen working with photos in other parts of this website, where my horses are loose at camp, and are loose on the trail as we travel along from hut to hut.... you cannot generally expect just any horse to follow and stay with us unless it has been trained to do so.. yes.. they will run off on you...!
My training program is different to the norm, as in time on the trail I need my horses to be able to work to voice command when loose as we travel along, or at camp so asking Gizzy to stand loose as we quietly teach him all the groundwork things that go to make a good trekking horse is just a part of the overall program....
I had the float at his paddock, and tried loading him but he wouldnt have a bar of it so left it..
Next day I tried again, this time he would only walk up to the top of the ramp with quiet encouragement, he stood and sniffed everything but wouldnt go any further, electing to just stand there, so I unclipped his lead rope and stood back beside him, all the time quietly talking and reassuring him..
We stood there for an hour and a quarter..... a couple times I backed him off and tried again.... then.... he just walked on.. I praised him gave him a bit of carrot, then backed him off and reloaded.. some hesitation, then walked on.. I repeated this a couple more times and then left it on a good note..
I feel Gizzy may have had some beating or force used as a younger horse, he is overly scared and very very sensitive, so all of my training I work on gaining his trust to achieve things rather than using any form of force, such as a whip etc. I believe in quiet, consistent, but persistent training, keeping his trust but without being too soft on him.. its a fine line but he is telling me the pace he is happy to learn at... I personally dont like to rush the learning on any horse, and try to keep every aspect as positive as possible..
My aim with Gizzy over the next year or so is to achieve a calm and willing multi purpose riding or pack horse, equipped with experience and confidence to be able to accept his surroundings, and get on with the job asked of him on the trails and treks.... and do so safely..!
As he gains "miles under his belt", and in his own time, work towards becoming another "school master" style of horse...
A couple days ago, Gizzy was introduced to the pack saddle, (without the harness initially) and was led out around the hill block off another horse and couldnt have cared less.. next time I will re introduce the pack saddle with harness this time and repeat the trip around the 20 odd kilometre block, if that goes without a hitch, guess who will be going on his first small trek lightly loaded as my pack horse..lol...
Today, is a windy day and took a blue plastic small tarp up to the paddock.. all the horses in the paddock upon seeing and hearing this flapping thing took off around the paddock as you would expect.. its a game to them, one egging the next on..
I haltered Gizzy, talking to him quietly walked him over to the fence where this rattly flapping blue thing was ..... We stopped a few metres away and I could understand he was scared but we just stood and watched it for a few mins, then we walked closer.. I took it off the fence, with Gizzy on high alert, but he trusted me... quietly, a few minutes later he allowed me to place it next to his skin, and dont forget its a windy day... he trusted me... I scrunched it up a bit and introduced it onto his back, and like the scary plastic bag on a stick, he just stood there loose....
Because it was windy I left it on that note and turned him loose again, but he didnt move off.. amazing..
When its a calm day I want to lay it on the ground and introduce Gizzy to walk over it back and forth, and slowly put it on his back and be able to slowly pull it right up over his head ... he is trusting very nicely even thought he is very scared...
Gizzy has been back on the float with a little hesitation and took him and shae to a bit of different area for a twenty odd kilometre ride, back on the float and home.. his fitness is improving so later next week I am planning on taking the two of them on a simple overnite trek...Gizzy as the pack horse with just a couple of horse covers in the soft panniers as his pack load..
I have my farrier booked in to re shoe the others and this time I will get Gizzy shod for the first time..
The boy now has his first set of shoes on and he was a good boy for Barry the farrier... this week he has been on the float twice and both times... there and back .....he loaded with little hesitation..so this Friday and Saturday we are heading off on his first overnight trek as my pack horse.. this first outing he will only have the soft panniers on him with just a horse cover in them each side.
Its a two and a half hour float ride (each way) down to the Ashburton Gorge and then a 17 k trek into the Boundary hut for him, but his fitness is fine so should be no issue..this first trek destination now has a secure horse paddock as I have not yet introduced him to the leg tie or high line..
.I am very very happy with Gizzys progress and his acceptance and trust in all the things he is learning about.. As you have read, I probably do things differently to the modern horse breaker, in that I like to start and educate a new horse slowly over the course of a year or two rather than just a couple of months... School master style horses are largely made up of sound knowledge and conditioning and this to my mind cannot be taught properly in a short time frame...
Horses these days seem to lack the knowledge and experiences of sufficient ground handling work, and folks wonder why their mount is scared of this and that, or shys all the time, and no way can it be ridden down a main roadside on a sunday afternoon safely and calmly..
You will often see me out riding one of my experienced horses leading Gizzy exactly on a Sunday afternoon roadside riding with all the city folks who drive past us at 100 kilometres an hour on their sunday drives, ablibious to what a horse is scared of, and could do when frightened....there is little worst on the traffic front than this and in time my horses become use to it... a great learning tool....
Just on this note, it bugs me why city folks do this.... they dont realise that a scared horse is easily able to jump sideways out onto the road and I dont think many drivers would like a "real horse" emblem on their bonnet...
Having said this, I dont take a green horse, ridden or led straight out into the sunday traffic roadside riding, all horses need to be gradually conditioned to traffic first.. think of this stage as my advanced traffic conditioned phase, but one I consider an important part in the development of a school master style horse... one equiped to be able to handle almost any situation calmly.....
Horses are smart creatures and have an overriding urge to preserve themselves in the face of fear.. their reaction is to flight the fear...
This is where ground work training is so important..... to train and quietly expose the horse to all this scary stuff before the riding phase, the horse becomes conditioned to its surrounding and gradually becomes content.... and safe...!
First time with something on my back..!
Working quietly, after introducing the pack saddle for Gizzy to sniff, placed it on his back with little reaction, so reached under and pulled the girth thru and lightly did it up as shown. he started eating, so dropped the lead rope and went got my camera.."snap"...lol
Obviously looking at the above pic the saddle is way back from its normal position but was interested in what Gizzy thought rather than its correct position...
Obviously looking at the above pic the saddle is way back from its normal position but was interested in what Gizzy thought rather than its correct position...
Gizzys new cover....
Today, I took this blue plastic rattly cover up to the paddock and this time all the boys stayed around instead of galloping off up the hill..
Firstly I spent some time re going over the scary plastic bag on a long pole all over Gizzy until he didnt care less what I did with it..
Next I picked up this blue tarp and with it still rolled up introduced it to Gizzy to sniff, then quietly placed it against his skin, then slowly placed it still rolled up on his back and left it there.. I pushed it off so it would drop down beside him.. he was a little nervous, but did this several times both sides and over the back each time allowing it to drop and land against his legs, I slowly unwrapped it each time I slid it over him until it was unrolled totally then just kept pushing the russling cover over him both sides until he didnt care less.. once,.. it all landed behind him so reached thru and pulled an end and the rest followed thru between his back legs and thought may as well carry on and pulled it between his fronts as well.. he just stood there. next as the pic shows placed it over him and pulled it up to his head then asked him to walk forward like this.. Each step he sort of stood on it and in turn that pulled the cover over that way, but he handled this very well..
Firstly I spent some time re going over the scary plastic bag on a long pole all over Gizzy until he didnt care less what I did with it..
Next I picked up this blue tarp and with it still rolled up introduced it to Gizzy to sniff, then quietly placed it against his skin, then slowly placed it still rolled up on his back and left it there.. I pushed it off so it would drop down beside him.. he was a little nervous, but did this several times both sides and over the back each time allowing it to drop and land against his legs, I slowly unwrapped it each time I slid it over him until it was unrolled totally then just kept pushing the russling cover over him both sides until he didnt care less.. once,.. it all landed behind him so reached thru and pulled an end and the rest followed thru between his back legs and thought may as well carry on and pulled it between his fronts as well.. he just stood there. next as the pic shows placed it over him and pulled it up to his head then asked him to walk forward like this.. Each step he sort of stood on it and in turn that pulled the cover over that way, but he handled this very well..
Gizzy was not nearly as frightened this time, with the blue cover....
Next I asked Gizzy to walk over it and walk over it how it landed on the ground, half in a heap,
He hesitated a little then was happy walking back and forth with not a care in the world.. it was funny, I led him over it and next Bailey followed across it as well..lol
Gizzy is coming along nicely with his trust in me in achieving milestones in his desensitising training..
I have one main long trek this month and will be using Bailey, but the next couple are short ones and will use Gizzy as the packhorse..
He is almost self loading on the float now, and is dealing with our country traffic better and better, so now along with these things he will be packed more and more gaining confidence and experience..
So now its a period of consolidation for the things I have taught him until later in the winter when I will introduce him to the start of being under riding saddle..
Gizzy has started to be led roadside riding on the traffic side now, and altho he is happy with cars passing is still hesitant with trucks, but yesterday I wish I had a camera, we had two log trucks pass us and Gizzy, altho scared just stayed right beside Mr Cons as both passed us.. He is coming along nicely.. its just time on the job he needs.
Today, Sunday, Gizzy being led and me riding Mr Cons went sunday afternoon roadside riding with Gizzy after half way around the twenty odd kilometre block swapped onto the buzy traffic side of Mr Cons and coped quite well... Its interesting, I can ride the same road during the week time and most traffic will slow and pass carefully, but on weekends we get city folks who wizz past at 100 ks, often without even moving over towards the centre line..
When riding one of my traffic conditioned horses and without Gizz with me, I make a point of roadside riding on the very edge of the roads.. I do this as it forces drivers to slow down and not wizz past...If I ride away from the edge, say near the fence line, then drivers often dont worry and continue at pace.. this is fine for me but... other riders, or other green horses, this is not fine, and this sort of behaviour puts greener riders off roadside riding..... Driver education with horse riders is sadly lacking in our modern fast pace world...
Some of you riding folks will say I am mad, (and probably right ) in doing this, but I feel this is one of a horses necessary experiences to have under their belt...
Just a side note here, one day quite a while back I had taken a lady, experienced in riding many yrs earlier, out for her first ride in ages and put her on Shae, knowing he is virtually bombproof and was riding my T/Bred Tom one sunday morning.. we had ridden the back roads up in our area and on return was quietly riding back down a busy open country roadside, and instead of turning off and sort of double backing to avoid a main road traffic bridge, rode along and holding up traffic did cross that bridge and back to the paddock...
The lady said afterwards, she shut her eyes as we approached the bridge and couldnt believe we actually rode two horses safely across,, she said she would never in a million yrs do that on her horse.... this is the trust, and traffic conditioning that I know my horses can handle, and do so safely...
Gizzy has had quiet a few outings since the last entry in here, and is settling down to his job asked of him nicely...... still scared at times if things happen to fast , but everyday I can see progress .
He is trusting in me nicely now....
I am really looking forward to getting Gizzy under saddle in his own time, as I have been watching him loose in his paddock trotting and cantering as they all
play their games tearing around up and down the hill...Gizzy seems to have quiet a high front leg arch with his natural walk and trot, and man there is some power in that
young body of his... no problem to gallop from the bottom right up to the top of their hill paddock,, no slowing down.. up there in about two minutes flat..lol. earlier today the others had cantered down the hill before Gizzy, and upon realising he was left up there alone, came charging straight down the hill, its reasonably steep and with also having had a weeks rain, it was greasy, but not a worry to Gizz.... I was impressed with his surefooted four legged slides coming down... controlling himself ...talk about the antics of boy teenagers..lol ( I cant help wondering what he is going to be like when he gets his drivers licence and own car....lol )
Gizzy is ready for the starting under "riding saddle" phase of his development
Shortly he is going on a couple of further small treks as my pack horse, and will be introduced to the slightly heavier hard panniers on him, with both treks on relatively easy flatish ground, so he has a chance to become used to his load without having to contend with things hitting the panniers...
Very soon also, I am going to introduce the bit and bridle to Gizzy, then quietly start the ground work lunge phase of teaching him walk trot canter, stop, bending, and back up in the round pen so he becomes used to my voice cues asking him of the various gaits..
This combined with seperate daily long rein driving and bending behind him... consolidating the horses education, giving Gizzy time to take all this in and time after each lesson to think about what we have done in this days training..
I will spend a reasonable time in this ground work phase until I see him accepting and totally used to my voice cues , both with gait changes and the
bridle driving phase.....
Once I start this next phase, he will be worked for short periods everyday, so he remembers and builds on each days training, with time for him to think about what he is being taught...
I believe this area is one of the most important areas in a young horses education, as everything he learns, good or not so good, he will remember for his lifetime...
Teaching Gizzy all the cues and experiences from the ground until I see he is totally happy, relaxed and confident before introducing him to the experience of me on his back, is important for the safety side.. once I am in the saddle, Gizzy will already be totally used to my cues, and with packing him, used to having weight on him, also with my roadside leading him, he has got used to me beside and above him giving him voice cues, so the final riding him phase should be an easy introduction with little suprise to him...
So you can see why I have gone thru, perhaps a different process of pretraining Gizz in the above different phases, to get him used to all his surroundings and the trust in me, all before introducing him to the saddle riding phase... a good start, on his way and in his own time to becoming another safe school master style of working horse....
To my mind, if you spend time to educate and expose your horse quietly and with his confidence building all the time, you equip him with both the knowledge and self confidence to venture forward in his life and be better able to deal with all that comes his way..... Ground work combined with trust is the key...
I am looking forward to teaching Gizzy to be responsive to lite rein cues, and not having to retrain a horse that a previous owner / rider has been hard on a horses mouth... It takes quite a long time to retrain a hard mouthed horse to accept soft rein cues...
I want to continue to hold his trust, in achieving the riding under saddle stage, as I need him both confident and quiet as he is further introduced to being ridden out on the trails...
I love working with horses, each one learns at a different rate, but love the satisfaction in achieving a nice result.. Stay tuned..lol
Gizzys Milestone... Today he was mouthed...
A milestone with Gizzy today... went for a ride on Mr Cons and on my return to the horse paddock Gizzy was hanging around the gate, so thought,, I wonder what he would think of me introducing the bit and bridle to him, so haltered him and showed him the bridle, and tom thumb bit..
He seemed calm, so held the bit lightly against his mouth,, he initially pulled back slightly but was able to just keep the bit lightly against his mouth, next he just opened it and I slid it in, still holding the bridle in a bunch above his nose..
He calmed and was sort of playing with this lump of steel in his mouth, so after another short while, unravelled the rest of the bridle and he let me slip one side over an ear, and then the other side...
He just seemed suprised, but no adverse reaction, so did up the throat lash and left him like this for around 15 mins, then slowly took it back off him, praising him,,,, what a good boy.....a good result, and ended on a good note....
Over a three day period, Gizz is bridled and the rein driving saddle put on him with reins from the bit up thru the driving saddle and attached to a crupper, and he is left in a small paddock for an hour to work out without any force or input from me pressure on the bit and how to release the pressure himself by bending his neck,,
Next day for around two hours this is repeated with the reins tightened a little, and again on the third day with reins tight enough to have his head line vertical, and this day I watched him closely as he learns to release the pressure himself.... he eventually stood there and held the bend in his neck and started to back up on his own... beautiful... he was released and not a hand from me was placed on his initial rein training phase..
Now he is ready for the next phase.. long rein driving..... he is coming along beautifully...
Today, rode Mr Cons and took Gizzy up the Blowhard track to the top of Mt Richardson and back, Gizz, was loose the entire time, and both boys didnt put a foot wrong.. it was blowing a gale up on the tops which is good conditioning for both boys with trees and branches swaying back and forth on the trail...
On the way up in parts Gizz was climbing rite beside Mr Cons, and I was tempted to just jump over onto him..lol
Since the last post, Gizz has started bridle driving with rein bending exercises, yesterday I saddled him and started one foot in the stirup, and leaning over him.... He just stood there...while leaning over him, gently pulled the rein to bend his head, one side.. held it for a short time, then quietly bent his neck around the other side and held it... he accepted all this with no issue... I hopped down, tied him up and left the saddle and bridle on him for twenty mins with time for him to think about what we have done today..a good note to leave this important start..
Over the last week or ten days, Gizzy has changed..... I noticed he has largely stopped being so scared of everything, and is calming down nicely... its been a long road in teaching him things all with retaining and developing his trust in me, and in doing so, keeping him calm..
Calm, is one of the important attributes that I need in a good trekking horse... I am very pleased in the way he is developing...
Today he will be saddled and start some quiet lungeing, to introduce voice cues for walk trot canter, stop, along with more bending with reins training and a little more standing on one stirup, and leaning over him,and doing this from both sides..
I dont intend to ride him for a while yet, just getting him used to me around him, the saddle and bridle feel , before the riding phase, he needs to go thru daily lungeing groundwork until he is confident with my voice cues in the different gaits along with rein training.. I am in no rush in teaching him...
He hesitated a little then was happy walking back and forth with not a care in the world.. it was funny, I led him over it and next Bailey followed across it as well..lol
Gizzy is coming along nicely with his trust in me in achieving milestones in his desensitising training..
I have one main long trek this month and will be using Bailey, but the next couple are short ones and will use Gizzy as the packhorse..
He is almost self loading on the float now, and is dealing with our country traffic better and better, so now along with these things he will be packed more and more gaining confidence and experience..
So now its a period of consolidation for the things I have taught him until later in the winter when I will introduce him to the start of being under riding saddle..
Gizzy has started to be led roadside riding on the traffic side now, and altho he is happy with cars passing is still hesitant with trucks, but yesterday I wish I had a camera, we had two log trucks pass us and Gizzy, altho scared just stayed right beside Mr Cons as both passed us.. He is coming along nicely.. its just time on the job he needs.
Today, Sunday, Gizzy being led and me riding Mr Cons went sunday afternoon roadside riding with Gizzy after half way around the twenty odd kilometre block swapped onto the buzy traffic side of Mr Cons and coped quite well... Its interesting, I can ride the same road during the week time and most traffic will slow and pass carefully, but on weekends we get city folks who wizz past at 100 ks, often without even moving over towards the centre line..
When riding one of my traffic conditioned horses and without Gizz with me, I make a point of roadside riding on the very edge of the roads.. I do this as it forces drivers to slow down and not wizz past...If I ride away from the edge, say near the fence line, then drivers often dont worry and continue at pace.. this is fine for me but... other riders, or other green horses, this is not fine, and this sort of behaviour puts greener riders off roadside riding..... Driver education with horse riders is sadly lacking in our modern fast pace world...
Some of you riding folks will say I am mad, (and probably right ) in doing this, but I feel this is one of a horses necessary experiences to have under their belt...
Just a side note here, one day quite a while back I had taken a lady, experienced in riding many yrs earlier, out for her first ride in ages and put her on Shae, knowing he is virtually bombproof and was riding my T/Bred Tom one sunday morning.. we had ridden the back roads up in our area and on return was quietly riding back down a busy open country roadside, and instead of turning off and sort of double backing to avoid a main road traffic bridge, rode along and holding up traffic did cross that bridge and back to the paddock...
The lady said afterwards, she shut her eyes as we approached the bridge and couldnt believe we actually rode two horses safely across,, she said she would never in a million yrs do that on her horse.... this is the trust, and traffic conditioning that I know my horses can handle, and do so safely...
Gizzy has had quiet a few outings since the last entry in here, and is settling down to his job asked of him nicely...... still scared at times if things happen to fast , but everyday I can see progress .
He is trusting in me nicely now....
I am really looking forward to getting Gizzy under saddle in his own time, as I have been watching him loose in his paddock trotting and cantering as they all
play their games tearing around up and down the hill...Gizzy seems to have quiet a high front leg arch with his natural walk and trot, and man there is some power in that
young body of his... no problem to gallop from the bottom right up to the top of their hill paddock,, no slowing down.. up there in about two minutes flat..lol. earlier today the others had cantered down the hill before Gizzy, and upon realising he was left up there alone, came charging straight down the hill, its reasonably steep and with also having had a weeks rain, it was greasy, but not a worry to Gizz.... I was impressed with his surefooted four legged slides coming down... controlling himself ...talk about the antics of boy teenagers..lol ( I cant help wondering what he is going to be like when he gets his drivers licence and own car....lol )
Gizzy is ready for the starting under "riding saddle" phase of his development
Shortly he is going on a couple of further small treks as my pack horse, and will be introduced to the slightly heavier hard panniers on him, with both treks on relatively easy flatish ground, so he has a chance to become used to his load without having to contend with things hitting the panniers...
Very soon also, I am going to introduce the bit and bridle to Gizzy, then quietly start the ground work lunge phase of teaching him walk trot canter, stop, bending, and back up in the round pen so he becomes used to my voice cues asking him of the various gaits..
This combined with seperate daily long rein driving and bending behind him... consolidating the horses education, giving Gizzy time to take all this in and time after each lesson to think about what we have done in this days training..
I will spend a reasonable time in this ground work phase until I see him accepting and totally used to my voice cues , both with gait changes and the
bridle driving phase.....
Once I start this next phase, he will be worked for short periods everyday, so he remembers and builds on each days training, with time for him to think about what he is being taught...
I believe this area is one of the most important areas in a young horses education, as everything he learns, good or not so good, he will remember for his lifetime...
Teaching Gizzy all the cues and experiences from the ground until I see he is totally happy, relaxed and confident before introducing him to the experience of me on his back, is important for the safety side.. once I am in the saddle, Gizzy will already be totally used to my cues, and with packing him, used to having weight on him, also with my roadside leading him, he has got used to me beside and above him giving him voice cues, so the final riding him phase should be an easy introduction with little suprise to him...
So you can see why I have gone thru, perhaps a different process of pretraining Gizz in the above different phases, to get him used to all his surroundings and the trust in me, all before introducing him to the saddle riding phase... a good start, on his way and in his own time to becoming another safe school master style of working horse....
To my mind, if you spend time to educate and expose your horse quietly and with his confidence building all the time, you equip him with both the knowledge and self confidence to venture forward in his life and be better able to deal with all that comes his way..... Ground work combined with trust is the key...
I am looking forward to teaching Gizzy to be responsive to lite rein cues, and not having to retrain a horse that a previous owner / rider has been hard on a horses mouth... It takes quite a long time to retrain a hard mouthed horse to accept soft rein cues...
I want to continue to hold his trust, in achieving the riding under saddle stage, as I need him both confident and quiet as he is further introduced to being ridden out on the trails...
I love working with horses, each one learns at a different rate, but love the satisfaction in achieving a nice result.. Stay tuned..lol
Gizzys Milestone... Today he was mouthed...
A milestone with Gizzy today... went for a ride on Mr Cons and on my return to the horse paddock Gizzy was hanging around the gate, so thought,, I wonder what he would think of me introducing the bit and bridle to him, so haltered him and showed him the bridle, and tom thumb bit..
He seemed calm, so held the bit lightly against his mouth,, he initially pulled back slightly but was able to just keep the bit lightly against his mouth, next he just opened it and I slid it in, still holding the bridle in a bunch above his nose..
He calmed and was sort of playing with this lump of steel in his mouth, so after another short while, unravelled the rest of the bridle and he let me slip one side over an ear, and then the other side...
He just seemed suprised, but no adverse reaction, so did up the throat lash and left him like this for around 15 mins, then slowly took it back off him, praising him,,,, what a good boy.....a good result, and ended on a good note....
Over a three day period, Gizz is bridled and the rein driving saddle put on him with reins from the bit up thru the driving saddle and attached to a crupper, and he is left in a small paddock for an hour to work out without any force or input from me pressure on the bit and how to release the pressure himself by bending his neck,,
Next day for around two hours this is repeated with the reins tightened a little, and again on the third day with reins tight enough to have his head line vertical, and this day I watched him closely as he learns to release the pressure himself.... he eventually stood there and held the bend in his neck and started to back up on his own... beautiful... he was released and not a hand from me was placed on his initial rein training phase..
Now he is ready for the next phase.. long rein driving..... he is coming along beautifully...
Today, rode Mr Cons and took Gizzy up the Blowhard track to the top of Mt Richardson and back, Gizz, was loose the entire time, and both boys didnt put a foot wrong.. it was blowing a gale up on the tops which is good conditioning for both boys with trees and branches swaying back and forth on the trail...
On the way up in parts Gizz was climbing rite beside Mr Cons, and I was tempted to just jump over onto him..lol
Since the last post, Gizz has started bridle driving with rein bending exercises, yesterday I saddled him and started one foot in the stirup, and leaning over him.... He just stood there...while leaning over him, gently pulled the rein to bend his head, one side.. held it for a short time, then quietly bent his neck around the other side and held it... he accepted all this with no issue... I hopped down, tied him up and left the saddle and bridle on him for twenty mins with time for him to think about what we have done today..a good note to leave this important start..
Over the last week or ten days, Gizzy has changed..... I noticed he has largely stopped being so scared of everything, and is calming down nicely... its been a long road in teaching him things all with retaining and developing his trust in me, and in doing so, keeping him calm..
Calm, is one of the important attributes that I need in a good trekking horse... I am very pleased in the way he is developing...
Today he will be saddled and start some quiet lungeing, to introduce voice cues for walk trot canter, stop, along with more bending with reins training and a little more standing on one stirup, and leaning over him,and doing this from both sides..
I dont intend to ride him for a while yet, just getting him used to me around him, the saddle and bridle feel , before the riding phase, he needs to go thru daily lungeing groundwork until he is confident with my voice cues in the different gaits along with rein training.. I am in no rush in teaching him...
First time under saddle and bridle..
After saddling him, I introduced some quiet lunge work just at a walk at this stage for twenty or so rounds and then changed to the other side, then took the mounting block and placed it beside him, put a foot in the sturip and put my weight over him, he did nothing, so did it on the other side and left it on that good note..
Long Rein Driving......
I have been long rein driving Giz several days for an hour each time, he is accepting, willing, easy and lite to drive so coming along beautifully..
Its amazing how in the last couple of weeks he is calming down finally.. its been a long road first for him to trust me and secondly allowing me to work with him quiety..A big issue with Giz has been touching him anywhere around the top of his head and ears, but working a little and quietly each day, I can now walk up and rub him anywhere over his head, so another good result.....
Today, Giz was re shod and this time didnt move at all as Barry went about his work.. Barry is a guy who is quiet around young stock and happy to stop if things get a bit much for the young horse, as a result Giz remembered Barry from previous times as was quiet relaxed this time...
Earlier I have mentioned that I feel this horse has had some beating or force used at some stage of his younger life, and as a result of this its taken a lot longer to work with Giz in achieving various stages in his training.... horses remember every event in their lives.. good.. and not so good....!
I think we have reached that milestone where this horse has accepted me as his leader... I feel very privileged.....
Its amazing how in the last couple of weeks he is calming down finally.. its been a long road first for him to trust me and secondly allowing me to work with him quiety..A big issue with Giz has been touching him anywhere around the top of his head and ears, but working a little and quietly each day, I can now walk up and rub him anywhere over his head, so another good result.....
Today, Giz was re shod and this time didnt move at all as Barry went about his work.. Barry is a guy who is quiet around young stock and happy to stop if things get a bit much for the young horse, as a result Giz remembered Barry from previous times as was quiet relaxed this time...
Earlier I have mentioned that I feel this horse has had some beating or force used at some stage of his younger life, and as a result of this its taken a lot longer to work with Giz in achieving various stages in his training.... horses remember every event in their lives.. good.. and not so good....!
I think we have reached that milestone where this horse has accepted me as his leader... I feel very privileged.....
Gizz with Simon teaching him to yield both sides..
Simon has been a big help over the past few days, helping ready Gizz for the Initial riding phase...
Here teaching Gizz to yield, so when we do mount him, if for what ever reason he started bucking, we can disengage his hind quarters, thus taking the power out of any rodeo antic,,
But Gizz was very happy and content..
Here teaching Gizz to yield, so when we do mount him, if for what ever reason he started bucking, we can disengage his hind quarters, thus taking the power out of any rodeo antic,,
But Gizz was very happy and content..
Standing on one stirup exercises..
Simon on his horse Tango, Myself on Bailey and leading Gizz went out to a local beach and up a way for the introduction to me climbing on his back stage..
I put a foot in the stirup and climbed up as the photo shows several times, watching Gizzys response, he seemed happy and content so put a leg over and quietly sat in the saddle...
I put a foot in the stirup and climbed up as the photo shows several times, watching Gizzys response, he seemed happy and content so put a leg over and quietly sat in the saddle...
First time in the saddle on Giz..
Watching his demeanour , ears forward and looking content, I dismounted, praised him then remounted several times... next while in the saddle did some bending exercises with Gizz and asked him for a couple steps... All good, so dismounted and left it on that great note..
Giz is accepting of everything I ask of him, quietly and content.... I am wrapped.....
Thank you Simon for all your help and the use of your round pen...
With Simon and his horses help over the next period we will quietly teach Gizz to move off, walk, stop and stand as well as further bending and yield exercises in the round pen... so all going along nicely...
And yes.. Tony does have a helmet, that I do wear with new or unknown to me horses...
Update.. been back on Giz several times working with Simon and his horse in the round pen, teaching Giz leg aids, turning, yielding etc,, he is a darling.. has not put a single foot wrong... at the end of today, I was riding him in both directions with Simon on his horse in front and then Simon stood in the middle while Giz and I continued several more circles in both directions on our own..
With all of my groundwork preparation with Giz since I have owned him, I am now getting a payback, with his calm and willing acceptence of this new riding stage...
I recon two more round pen sessions and Giz will be ready for his first quiet trail ride.....
Since my last post, Gizz has been out on his first trail ride of 18 odd ks around Bottle Lake.... A little scared at times, a couple of jots forward in frights, but over all a good good boy... I didnt feel at any stage I needed to get off him so all good..
In this initial trail riding phase, I hang onto a strap on the front of my saddle when Gizz jolts forward and with the other hand just quietly ease the reins to slow him again.. I hold the strap so my weight doesn't pull directly on his mouth when he get a fright, as his mouth is tender with the introduction of the bit...
Currently we are having a wet cold patch in weather but as soon as it clears will be back out on him gaining miles and riding experience for him...He is everyday, turning into a lovely calm boy.. just what I need and look for in a good trekking horse...
Since the last post, I have been riding and schooling Giz in an arena everyday for around an hour, he is leaving behind his spooky nervous disposition with me on his back and is just starting to relax and seems to enjoy his work over the last couple of days... ears forward and fairly relaxed... he is doing well with leg aids in bending and gait cues,but is still not too good and stopping when asked, electing to fight the bit a little, but just gentle pressure and release combined with my voice cue to wooo he eventually comes to a halt... and will stand still when asked...
Have asked for a little trotting and is nice and collected, he is learning to bend nicely now....
Its been a while since my last post, we have had a bunch of wet weather, after wet weather, combined with a job change has seen poor old Gizz sitting in the paddock for almost two weeks.. ideally I wanted to be riding him daily once started under saddle, so have decided to let a guy who as a reputation for handling horses with a quite manner, do some ongoing in saddle training work to keep Gizz going forward...
I did manage to ride him for half an hour on Sunday but its just not enough for him..
With winter almost half way thru, I cant wait to get him out on the trail again, as this is where he learns the best,.having to control himself on the hills and fine tuning his balance and experiences as faced in daily mountain trail life... just like kids, young horses need time to learn about life , make mistakes, experience trail conditions and in time become surefooted and calm no matter what the terrain in front of them...
Giz is accepting of everything I ask of him, quietly and content.... I am wrapped.....
Thank you Simon for all your help and the use of your round pen...
With Simon and his horses help over the next period we will quietly teach Gizz to move off, walk, stop and stand as well as further bending and yield exercises in the round pen... so all going along nicely...
And yes.. Tony does have a helmet, that I do wear with new or unknown to me horses...
Update.. been back on Giz several times working with Simon and his horse in the round pen, teaching Giz leg aids, turning, yielding etc,, he is a darling.. has not put a single foot wrong... at the end of today, I was riding him in both directions with Simon on his horse in front and then Simon stood in the middle while Giz and I continued several more circles in both directions on our own..
With all of my groundwork preparation with Giz since I have owned him, I am now getting a payback, with his calm and willing acceptence of this new riding stage...
I recon two more round pen sessions and Giz will be ready for his first quiet trail ride.....
Since my last post, Gizz has been out on his first trail ride of 18 odd ks around Bottle Lake.... A little scared at times, a couple of jots forward in frights, but over all a good good boy... I didnt feel at any stage I needed to get off him so all good..
In this initial trail riding phase, I hang onto a strap on the front of my saddle when Gizz jolts forward and with the other hand just quietly ease the reins to slow him again.. I hold the strap so my weight doesn't pull directly on his mouth when he get a fright, as his mouth is tender with the introduction of the bit...
Currently we are having a wet cold patch in weather but as soon as it clears will be back out on him gaining miles and riding experience for him...He is everyday, turning into a lovely calm boy.. just what I need and look for in a good trekking horse...
Since the last post, I have been riding and schooling Giz in an arena everyday for around an hour, he is leaving behind his spooky nervous disposition with me on his back and is just starting to relax and seems to enjoy his work over the last couple of days... ears forward and fairly relaxed... he is doing well with leg aids in bending and gait cues,but is still not too good and stopping when asked, electing to fight the bit a little, but just gentle pressure and release combined with my voice cue to wooo he eventually comes to a halt... and will stand still when asked...
Have asked for a little trotting and is nice and collected, he is learning to bend nicely now....
Its been a while since my last post, we have had a bunch of wet weather, after wet weather, combined with a job change has seen poor old Gizz sitting in the paddock for almost two weeks.. ideally I wanted to be riding him daily once started under saddle, so have decided to let a guy who as a reputation for handling horses with a quite manner, do some ongoing in saddle training work to keep Gizz going forward...
I did manage to ride him for half an hour on Sunday but its just not enough for him..
With winter almost half way thru, I cant wait to get him out on the trail again, as this is where he learns the best,.having to control himself on the hills and fine tuning his balance and experiences as faced in daily mountain trail life... just like kids, young horses need time to learn about life , make mistakes, experience trail conditions and in time become surefooted and calm no matter what the terrain in front of them...
Barry the Farrier at work.....
This is only the third time Gizz has been shod, and this time he stood like a lamb for Barry...... He remembered Barry as a kind Farrier, who is happy to stop if things get a bit much for the young stock and as a result Gizz now trusts him....
Well, its been a couple weeks since my last post in here, and in the mean time we have had a lot of rain, combined with a bit of a job change for me.. the result.. Giz and all my others sitting in the paddock not being ridden...so.. what to do..
I rang Gerry Johnstone who has a reputation for being a gentle horse trainer, and asked him if he could help to keep Gizz ridden after his initial starting under saddle just a few weeks prior, and he has done a stirling job for the past ten days or so..
Today, I rode Gizz around 18ks and he didnt put a foot wrong... he is on the road to becoming a really nice riding and packing horse indeed....
Its been four odd weeks since my last post in here, today rode Gizz and for the first time, led Mr Con off him,,, Mr Cons kept swapping sides,back and forth which in turn saw the long led rope riding up over the back of Gizz... at times around his rear legs,other times with every step Mr Cons took the rope was hitting into the side of Giz.... but.. he could'nt have cared less..... I am wrapped... all that groundwork has well and truely paid off... Gizz doesnt shy at anything as we ride along...
Still some issue with fast moving vehicles coming at him and still issue with large trucks but riding him every second day now, just time will fix these things..
One more longish ride on him and then I feel he is ready to introduce my saddle bags and ropes on a further ride and if that goes ok, will tie my bed roll on top of the saddlebags and take him round the block...
What a transformation from October last year when he first arrived to today... I am very very proud of his achievements..... a fine trekking horse in the making..!
Well, its been a couple weeks since my last post in here, and in the mean time we have had a lot of rain, combined with a bit of a job change for me.. the result.. Giz and all my others sitting in the paddock not being ridden...so.. what to do..
I rang Gerry Johnstone who has a reputation for being a gentle horse trainer, and asked him if he could help to keep Gizz ridden after his initial starting under saddle just a few weeks prior, and he has done a stirling job for the past ten days or so..
Today, I rode Gizz around 18ks and he didnt put a foot wrong... he is on the road to becoming a really nice riding and packing horse indeed....
Its been four odd weeks since my last post in here, today rode Gizz and for the first time, led Mr Con off him,,, Mr Cons kept swapping sides,back and forth which in turn saw the long led rope riding up over the back of Gizz... at times around his rear legs,other times with every step Mr Cons took the rope was hitting into the side of Giz.... but.. he could'nt have cared less..... I am wrapped... all that groundwork has well and truely paid off... Gizz doesnt shy at anything as we ride along...
Still some issue with fast moving vehicles coming at him and still issue with large trucks but riding him every second day now, just time will fix these things..
One more longish ride on him and then I feel he is ready to introduce my saddle bags and ropes on a further ride and if that goes ok, will tie my bed roll on top of the saddlebags and take him round the block...
What a transformation from October last year when he first arrived to today... I am very very proud of his achievements..... a fine trekking horse in the making..!
Two Months under saddle.........
I am wrapped with the way Giz is coming along... he doesnt shy at anything, is calm, willing, and confident even with new situations..Picture shows him on his first real mountain area ride......We rode some 70 to 80 kilometres over a three day period including some quite steep country and he felt safe and surefooted..
5 Months under saddle update...
Since the last entry in here on Gizz, he and I have been consolidating all that he learnt in his groundwork and starting under saddle phase..
Groundwork to my mind, done right makes the difference between a horse that altho is equally started under saddle, better equips this horse to be able to cope with all the things he comes across in his day to day life,everything from that scary plastic bag in the long grass that he wants to shy at, to large tractors or combined harvesters coming down the road towards you, and all in between...if your horse has been desensitised correctly combined closely with totally trusting your reassuring words then it gives him those tools to be able to cope safely..
Recently I rode the Otago Goldfields trail over 14 days in the saddle and some 257 kilometres thru the hills and trails taking both Gizz and Bailey, each day alternating them between packing and riding..
Both boys handled this trek easily, and confidently, even when I asked them to cross several very high Viaduct rail bridges and walk thru two tunnels, the first in a curve shape and black as black, the boys had the confidence with me assuring them to enter the tunnels with no hesitation, the second one, not quite as long I rode the horse right thru and out the other end... amazing..!
Another thing I love with Gizz is his real sure footed walk, on the Otago trek we rode on some fairly steep and shaily broken rock hillsides on various day treks, and like his earlier rides on steep hill country at St James back in the spring he felts strong and safe to ride.. not once have I thought.. I need to get off him, sidling on this steep country...
We stopped for lunch on day 14 at a remote hut with my two just grazing next to our lunch table, when one of the other riders said look over your shoulder.... here was Gizz standing loose just behind me resting his rear leg and eyes almost shut with his head just behind me....me and my new mate aye..lol love it...!
I am wrapped with Gizz, from where we started with him to today, a total transformation.... I am very very proud of this young man...!
5 Months under saddle update...
Since the last entry in here on Gizz, he and I have been consolidating all that he learnt in his groundwork and starting under saddle phase..
Groundwork to my mind, done right makes the difference between a horse that altho is equally started under saddle, better equips this horse to be able to cope with all the things he comes across in his day to day life,everything from that scary plastic bag in the long grass that he wants to shy at, to large tractors or combined harvesters coming down the road towards you, and all in between...if your horse has been desensitised correctly combined closely with totally trusting your reassuring words then it gives him those tools to be able to cope safely..
Recently I rode the Otago Goldfields trail over 14 days in the saddle and some 257 kilometres thru the hills and trails taking both Gizz and Bailey, each day alternating them between packing and riding..
Both boys handled this trek easily, and confidently, even when I asked them to cross several very high Viaduct rail bridges and walk thru two tunnels, the first in a curve shape and black as black, the boys had the confidence with me assuring them to enter the tunnels with no hesitation, the second one, not quite as long I rode the horse right thru and out the other end... amazing..!
Another thing I love with Gizz is his real sure footed walk, on the Otago trek we rode on some fairly steep and shaily broken rock hillsides on various day treks, and like his earlier rides on steep hill country at St James back in the spring he felts strong and safe to ride.. not once have I thought.. I need to get off him, sidling on this steep country...
We stopped for lunch on day 14 at a remote hut with my two just grazing next to our lunch table, when one of the other riders said look over your shoulder.... here was Gizz standing loose just behind me resting his rear leg and eyes almost shut with his head just behind me....me and my new mate aye..lol love it...!
I am wrapped with Gizz, from where we started with him to today, a total transformation.... I am very very proud of this young man...!
Gizz just standing loose while I eat my lunch.. he just wants to be my mate.... nice !
Gizzy the working horse.......
Gizzy, some 8 month out from starting under saddle, now as one of my working horses, having been introduced to saddlebags and ropes hanging off him on the trail, is now an easy horse to ride and handle... quite surefooted and gaining more and more confidence... a pleasure to have around on the trail and at home.....!
I have just transitioned him from his bit and bridle to just a halter and reins like Shae and Bailey..... the final part in his initial starting under saddle and early saddle time..
So now he is one of my reliable and within reason, go anywhere work horses, trained to handle almost anything that comes his way, from steep up , down and sidling of hill country, to a recent trek into the heart of Molesworth where rivers were wide and deep.... he is unphased with it all...just happy to help..!
This trekking season he has been ridden or packed into St James twice, the Otago Goldfields trek of 257 kilometres over two weeks, the Lake Sumner to Lewis Pass and return trek, and our Molesworth / Clarence Reserve trek of a further 180 kilometres of hard country, all without major fault...
He is happy and content around the various camps,and like Shae ....not interested in buggering off at the first chance...and funny,, the sandflies dont seem to overly bother him unlike Shae and Bailey...
I have just transitioned him from his bit and bridle to just a halter and reins like Shae and Bailey..... the final part in his initial starting under saddle and early saddle time..
So now he is one of my reliable and within reason, go anywhere work horses, trained to handle almost anything that comes his way, from steep up , down and sidling of hill country, to a recent trek into the heart of Molesworth where rivers were wide and deep.... he is unphased with it all...just happy to help..!
This trekking season he has been ridden or packed into St James twice, the Otago Goldfields trek of 257 kilometres over two weeks, the Lake Sumner to Lewis Pass and return trek, and our Molesworth / Clarence Reserve trek of a further 180 kilometres of hard country, all without major fault...
He is happy and content around the various camps,and like Shae ....not interested in buggering off at the first chance...and funny,, the sandflies dont seem to overly bother him unlike Shae and Bailey...
Teaching Giz to Leg Tie.........
Over the last couple of afternoons I tied my leather leg tie (only) onto Gizzys leg and left him with it on over night...
Yesterday afternoon I tied the leg tie rope onto an old car tire and clipped the other end onto Giz as per above photo, then spent 15 mins quietly leading him in a circle, giving him the initial experience of a little resistance from the tires weight as we circled..
The tire was light and easily moved when he pulled the rope uip tight, but still it had enough resistance...
Several times he stopped and looked over at the tire, and sniffed the leg tie, and each time I allowed him time to do this,, stopping and thinking about what I am asking him to do..
After twenty mins, I untied him and left his leg tie on again over night..
My aim in the circles is a two pronged activity,, one.... he is learning that he can walk this circle and learn that anywhere within this circle is free range to him..
Secondly by walking an anti clockwise circle he is learning that this way around his leg is on the inside of this circle restriction and least likely to trip him up..
Several times today he cut across this circle but a couple times turned clockwise and immediately had leg tangles..
Yesterday afternoon I tied the leg tie rope onto an old car tire and clipped the other end onto Giz as per above photo, then spent 15 mins quietly leading him in a circle, giving him the initial experience of a little resistance from the tires weight as we circled..
The tire was light and easily moved when he pulled the rope uip tight, but still it had enough resistance...
Several times he stopped and looked over at the tire, and sniffed the leg tie, and each time I allowed him time to do this,, stopping and thinking about what I am asking him to do..
After twenty mins, I untied him and left his leg tie on again over night..
My aim in the circles is a two pronged activity,, one.... he is learning that he can walk this circle and learn that anywhere within this circle is free range to him..
Secondly by walking an anti clockwise circle he is learning that this way around his leg is on the inside of this circle restriction and least likely to trip him up..
Several times today he cut across this circle but a couple times turned clockwise and immediately had leg tangles..
Turning clockwise, tangles his leg...
In this initial stage of his leg tie training I just stood on the tie rope to create a little pressure and while quietly talking to him just stood still, giving Gizz time to work things out for himself..
He needs to work out that the rope wont budge, so he needs to learn to relieve this rope pressure to be able turn around and free himself once again..
He needs to work out that the rope wont budge, so he needs to learn to relieve this rope pressure to be able turn around and free himself once again..
Easy does it Giz.......
It took him several minutes to work out to back up and around...
Next he had to learn to step over the rope with his rear legs..
Temperally he tangled a rear leg, stood as if he felt himself trapped for another minute, then backed up a little again relieving the rope pressure and was able to turn around the right way.. good boy Gizz....
Next he had to learn to step over the rope with his rear legs..
Temperally he tangled a rear leg, stood as if he felt himself trapped for another minute, then backed up a little again relieving the rope pressure and was able to turn around the right way.. good boy Gizz....
With a little time, he worked it out....
Next I pulled the tire away from the fence enough so Giz could walk a full circle, and then went and sat on the tire, all the time talking quietly to him as he strolled another few circles with his leg right at the end of the rope distance.. this is normal for horses to do this for a while until they become used to this circle restriction...
Time for him to stop and think about all this.....
After a few circles he stopped and started grazing, still with the rope tight.. but a good result...
He is learning also that if a tangle occurs, to stop and think about this, and then work thru untangling himself.. so a good start..
I will repeat this daily now just for 20 minutes each time and it wont be long until he will get the message...
He is learning also that if a tangle occurs, to stop and think about this, and then work thru untangling himself.. so a good start..
I will repeat this daily now just for 20 minutes each time and it wont be long until he will get the message...
Sunday..... The St James Stationbred....
Meet Sunday.... so named as it was Sunday when we found this little orphaned colt foal, all alone out on the hillside beside a Matagouri bush, having lost his mother at only three weeks old..
He followed us for nearly a week out on the trail, managed to upset Mary and my trek plans, and as a result is now in Marys care for a while, running with a dry mare for a few months, to learn some manners and be taught things from this mare..
Mary is bottle feeding him and currently consuming 12 litres of milk a day..
The local Vet has checked him over and given him a clean bill of health
In time we will bring him down to us to gently start his schooling , with time also to be just a horse...
He was funny watching him trying to swat sandflies with that little dust mop excuse for a tail at camp.. it just flopped straight up and down at a fast rate.. so cute..!
Mary has been thru the official channels with DoC and the wild herd owners over what and why with Sunday ...What happened was not ideal in loosing his mother, but both official parties agree it is the best solution in Sundays case..!
The wild herd owner was of an opinion that it was a miracle that Sunday managed first to follow us for all of that week, and secondly to make it up and over the fowler pass at only three weeks old.... One lucky young man I recon...!
The herd owner was also of the opinion that Sunday stood little chance of survival without a mother once the snow arrives in his natural habitat, as he would be on his own, the herd just reject orphans,so its humbling to know we have given him a great chance at life..
Mary and I have agreed that Sunday wont belong to either of us, both will just be Sundays caregivers and hope he will live a happy and useful life, he is a special horse and it will be Mary and my pleasure to look after him and perhaps one day return to St James as a riding or packhorse..
See the On The Trail section for the full story on how Sunday came into our world..
He followed us for nearly a week out on the trail, managed to upset Mary and my trek plans, and as a result is now in Marys care for a while, running with a dry mare for a few months, to learn some manners and be taught things from this mare..
Mary is bottle feeding him and currently consuming 12 litres of milk a day..
The local Vet has checked him over and given him a clean bill of health
In time we will bring him down to us to gently start his schooling , with time also to be just a horse...
He was funny watching him trying to swat sandflies with that little dust mop excuse for a tail at camp.. it just flopped straight up and down at a fast rate.. so cute..!
Mary has been thru the official channels with DoC and the wild herd owners over what and why with Sunday ...What happened was not ideal in loosing his mother, but both official parties agree it is the best solution in Sundays case..!
The wild herd owner was of an opinion that it was a miracle that Sunday managed first to follow us for all of that week, and secondly to make it up and over the fowler pass at only three weeks old.... One lucky young man I recon...!
The herd owner was also of the opinion that Sunday stood little chance of survival without a mother once the snow arrives in his natural habitat, as he would be on his own, the herd just reject orphans,so its humbling to know we have given him a great chance at life..
Mary and I have agreed that Sunday wont belong to either of us, both will just be Sundays caregivers and hope he will live a happy and useful life, he is a special horse and it will be Mary and my pleasure to look after him and perhaps one day return to St James as a riding or packhorse..
See the On The Trail section for the full story on how Sunday came into our world..
Update Photo..... Sundays Lunch....!
About a month on from finding him all alone, he is loving his new life and here indulging at the milk bar for lunch..... 12 litres a day...!
The blotches on his face, legs and body are from stress...., loosing hair in those places, but is growing it back, he has had a further vet check with this and again given a clean bill...
Mary and Jan are doing a wonderful job in looking after the young Lad..!
Fiona and I went up to see him and Mary yesterday, its amazing how much he has grown in a short time..
Also, I need to amend the above statement of him drinking 12 litres a day.. now its up to 16 litres a day.
When we got up to the paddock he is at, Mary handed me a ten litre bucket about 3/4 full of milk, and it took about one minute for him to down it..lol..
Mary was saying there is an old milking shed in the middle of their paddock and Sunday... has made a little bed for himself around a corner inside it on some loose hay in there, so everynight after his last feed he puts himself to bed in there.. so cute..lol
I have this feeling with all this human attention Sunday is going to be a bit of a lad to handle when he gets older.. what you think...?...lol
The blotches on his face, legs and body are from stress...., loosing hair in those places, but is growing it back, he has had a further vet check with this and again given a clean bill...
Mary and Jan are doing a wonderful job in looking after the young Lad..!
Fiona and I went up to see him and Mary yesterday, its amazing how much he has grown in a short time..
Also, I need to amend the above statement of him drinking 12 litres a day.. now its up to 16 litres a day.
When we got up to the paddock he is at, Mary handed me a ten litre bucket about 3/4 full of milk, and it took about one minute for him to down it..lol..
Mary was saying there is an old milking shed in the middle of their paddock and Sunday... has made a little bed for himself around a corner inside it on some loose hay in there, so everynight after his last feed he puts himself to bed in there.. so cute..lol
I have this feeling with all this human attention Sunday is going to be a bit of a lad to handle when he gets older.. what you think...?...lol
Sundays replacement Mum.....
About two months old now.....!
His new mum here is infact a gelding who has taken him under his wing.... Mary was saying these two get around the place like two peas in a pod.......
When Sunday puts himself to bed the gelding just stays close outside overnite...I love it..lol
I love the expression on mums..... errrr dads face... it says it all..... "keep your distance from my wee mate you"...lol
His new mum here is infact a gelding who has taken him under his wing.... Mary was saying these two get around the place like two peas in a pod.......
When Sunday puts himself to bed the gelding just stays close outside overnite...I love it..lol
I love the expression on mums..... errrr dads face... it says it all..... "keep your distance from my wee mate you"...lol
At three weeks old...
Mary just sent me down a couple more pics of Sunday around the time he first came out of St James..
Imagine this baby horse managing to follow us for a week along the mountain trails...and then being able with a little help to walk up and over the Fowler Pass..
Imagine this baby horse managing to follow us for a week along the mountain trails...and then being able with a little help to walk up and over the Fowler Pass..
Loading Sunday on the float for the trip out of the mountains at three weeks old...
Mary stayed in the float and quietly held him against the wall for the slow trip down country...
Mary was saying he is getting thru around $90 worth of milk powder and suppliments a month, and needs to stay on this until 20 weeks so hes not cheap to run..He was measured at 9 hands when arrived now standing at 11.2 hands.. I think he could grow to be quite a big fella....
Update.. Sunday is growing fast.. Mary emailed me last night saying she measured Sunday now at 12 hands, hes grown half a hand in two weeks..!
He is booked in to be gelded in October......
Mary was saying he is getting thru around $90 worth of milk powder and suppliments a month, and needs to stay on this until 20 weeks so hes not cheap to run..He was measured at 9 hands when arrived now standing at 11.2 hands.. I think he could grow to be quite a big fella....
Update.. Sunday is growing fast.. Mary emailed me last night saying she measured Sunday now at 12 hands, hes grown half a hand in two weeks..!
He is booked in to be gelded in October......
Three months old...
Today, 29th May, three months old and man is he growing... I arrived at his paddock and no horses to be seen, so walked around the corner where this shot was taken to see Sundays guardian asleep where this photo was also taken and next I heard russling inside the cow shed and out comes Sunday..... so so cute..
He is the talk of the town up where he is and even made a page in the local newspaper about how he came into our world...
Update...
I was talking to a riding friend today, who along with her husband rode into St James one week after Mary and I were in there. when we came across Sunday the foal...Seems this lady and her husband found a Grey mare dead up a gully a short distance from where we found the foal, and my friend was of the opinion that this dead mare had recently given birth and had been milking, so putting the two likely equations together, finding and caring for this foal was the right thing to do in this case..
I have mulled and mulled in my mind since, over what happened over Sunday the foal.... did we do the right thing in bringing him out.. should we have stayed even longer trying to find his mother... should we have just cantered off and left the foal to find his mum....????????????
This today, has eased my mind with Sunday..
He is the talk of the town up where he is and even made a page in the local newspaper about how he came into our world...
Update...
I was talking to a riding friend today, who along with her husband rode into St James one week after Mary and I were in there. when we came across Sunday the foal...Seems this lady and her husband found a Grey mare dead up a gully a short distance from where we found the foal, and my friend was of the opinion that this dead mare had recently given birth and had been milking, so putting the two likely equations together, finding and caring for this foal was the right thing to do in this case..
I have mulled and mulled in my mind since, over what happened over Sunday the foal.... did we do the right thing in bringing him out.. should we have stayed even longer trying to find his mother... should we have just cantered off and left the foal to find his mum....????????????
This today, has eased my mind with Sunday..
Sunday at 5 mths old
12.2 hands and wearing a 4 foot 9 cover...
Update..... 22 July, Sunday has just been weaned off milk and now becomes a big boy eating grass and drinking water for a living.. Mary was saying today is just a touch under 13 hands.....So from mid March at 9 hands to mid July at 13 hands he is growing fast...and sooooooo cute...!
Update..... 22 July, Sunday has just been weaned off milk and now becomes a big boy eating grass and drinking water for a living.. Mary was saying today is just a touch under 13 hands.....So from mid March at 9 hands to mid July at 13 hands he is growing fast...and sooooooo cute...!
Sunday, at 6 months old and now a weanling.....!
He has gone from 9 hands at 3 weeks old to 13 hands at 6 months old... Mary has been regular leading him into Hanmer township, and often ties her horse up outside the pub or her cafe with Sunday loose hanging around.. Apparently more than once Sunday has been seen poking his head in the window of the pub and in the door of the cafe checking out what the punters have in their pockets for his consumption...... cheeky little tike...!
Mary has also been riding up the new Jacks Pass pack track with Sunday loose following along in hot pursuit as well so thats good training for him....
Mary has also been riding up the new Jacks Pass pack track with Sunday loose following along in hot pursuit as well so thats good training for him....
Look who is growing up fast.......
Sunday at 12 months old standing beside his big St James paddock mate....I estimate he is now around 14.2 hands
Mary was saying he has consumed some $2000 worth of infant foal milk mixture along with around $1000 in Vets bills in his first twelve months of life, so not a cheap young man to raise...
He has a darling nature, very inquisitive and still puts himself to bed at night in the old cow shed as seen in the background on his bed of hay in there...
Mary and I have decided to leave him up at Hanmer to grow another year, and hope to take him back for a look into his homeland of St James next season.....
Mary was saying he has consumed some $2000 worth of infant foal milk mixture along with around $1000 in Vets bills in his first twelve months of life, so not a cheap young man to raise...
He has a darling nature, very inquisitive and still puts himself to bed at night in the old cow shed as seen in the background on his bed of hay in there...
Mary and I have decided to leave him up at Hanmer to grow another year, and hope to take him back for a look into his homeland of St James next season.....
Sunday at 2 years 3 months, now standing around 15 hands....!
Sunday play fighting with Giz....!
Recently Sunday, has come down to live with us, since the last post, he has been briefly started under saddle, and now will be left to grow another year before, being quietly started under pack saddle....
In the mean time, I am starting a basic ground handling course with him, and included in this, further float training, and will be taken out from time to time being led off either Giz or Shae, to further learn my cues, and about the great outdoors so to speak outside his paddock environment ...
I truly believe in a through ground training and desensitising programs for young horses, and in this, allowing each horse time to learn all this at a pace they are comfortable with.. I dont care if it takes quite a long time.... this time spent pays dividends in later life....
So for Sunday, I am currently, going back to the start as I dont know what, or how much training he has had in each area of this ground work phase.....Mary has done a great job in hand rearing him, and has produced a young horse with a good temperament.. she has taught him to float, and lead out nicely....
I do a little halter work, leading, teaching him to yield, tie up, and lifting each of his feet daily, just so he has a little time to get use to me around him.....!
In the mean time, I am starting a basic ground handling course with him, and included in this, further float training, and will be taken out from time to time being led off either Giz or Shae, to further learn my cues, and about the great outdoors so to speak outside his paddock environment ...
I truly believe in a through ground training and desensitising programs for young horses, and in this, allowing each horse time to learn all this at a pace they are comfortable with.. I dont care if it takes quite a long time.... this time spent pays dividends in later life....
So for Sunday, I am currently, going back to the start as I dont know what, or how much training he has had in each area of this ground work phase.....Mary has done a great job in hand rearing him, and has produced a young horse with a good temperament.. she has taught him to float, and lead out nicely....
I do a little halter work, leading, teaching him to yield, tie up, and lifting each of his feet daily, just so he has a little time to get use to me around him.....!
Mr Zigs the Cleveland Bay (now retired )
I thought I would add a photo of Mr Zigs, who was my pack horse for quite a while.
Mr Zigs initially came to us after he had sustained a serious leg injury as a result of hitting a fence at night time fleeing a fire that broke out in a nearby hayshed. One Vet suggested his injury was serious enough to warrant putting him down, another Vet said possibily could come rite with at least a years paddock rest.
We gave him that year off and he fully recovered. I started quitely riding him and then started packing him and he took to packing nicely.
We had a lot of fun treks with Mr Zigs but in the later years he started becoming foot sore now and then, and I didnt want to have him away in the mountains and become lame there, so decided to retire him.
He has gone back to his original owner in Heathcote, who just loves him to bits and quitely still rides him...
A lovely way to live out his retirement......! He is 21 yrs old now..!
Mr Zigs initially came to us after he had sustained a serious leg injury as a result of hitting a fence at night time fleeing a fire that broke out in a nearby hayshed. One Vet suggested his injury was serious enough to warrant putting him down, another Vet said possibily could come rite with at least a years paddock rest.
We gave him that year off and he fully recovered. I started quitely riding him and then started packing him and he took to packing nicely.
We had a lot of fun treks with Mr Zigs but in the later years he started becoming foot sore now and then, and I didnt want to have him away in the mountains and become lame there, so decided to retire him.
He has gone back to his original owner in Heathcote, who just loves him to bits and quitely still rides him...
A lovely way to live out his retirement......! He is 21 yrs old now..!
