Louie's First Week of Training

So my blog for some reason posted my last two updates out of order so if you haven't read:
 On to the Next Adventure 
you may be lost as you start reading this post. :)

We picked up Louie on Monday morning. I was very excited to meet this guy and get started with him. Louie was a case of neglect back in September of 2013. He has been at Lollypop Farm Humane Society of Rochester New York ever since. Louie was used as a stud at the farm where he was seized from and has only been gelded for a few weeks. He came to Lollypop extremely underweight but put on pounds quickly with proper feeding. I hope to continue putting weight on him. (I like them fat lol)

I was anxious to see if he had any stud like behavior. As a 4 year old horses can learn that behavior quickly and give it up hard, even after being gelded. I was please to find out he is a complete sweet heart without a care for mares!  The trailer loading was surprisingly uneventful. After a second or two to look things over up and on he went.

Tuesday Louie began work. I spent most of this week on groundwork and getting to know his personality. He seems to be a very bold and willing horse. Anything I asked of him (including going over the tarp) he would spend a second.... look the situation over... and proceed with my request. What trainer can complain with a horse like that!

Towards the end of the week we put the saddle on and took our first "ride". And by ride I mean sitting on his back. :p   

After completing week one I'm very excited to have him! He truly is a sweet guy ready for his second chance. I'm looking forward to the weeks to come! Here is a quick video I put together of week 1.

Lollypop Farm posted on Facebook about the  Equine Comeback Challenge. If your interested, (it's a super quick read) here is the link!
https://www.facebook.com/lollypopfarm
The post was on July 22

Day 6

The final day of school!

Sunday began by taking our Young Jumper Trainers School 2014 Picture with the Red Top Farm jump!

Our final lesson was again instructed by Linda Allen. If the whole week wasn't hot enough I think by Sunday my body was done with the southern heat. Hot or not we tacked up for our final ride. I rode a big bay who's favorite idea was to simply sleep and eat all day.  So needless to say on this hot Sunday morning I had the workout of a lifetime.

After lunch we had a quick discussion about the hopes for future Young Jumper Trainers School's and suggestions on how to make the week even better than it was. Jose instructed one of the students on a horse that was broke the first day and it was amazing to see how far the young mare had come in just 4 days. From un-rideable to ridden in the field with a student on her back it truly was the icing on the cake of an incredible week. I learned more than I could ever write to you in this blog. I still Here Linda, Jose and Kelly's voices in my head as I'm training my young ones at home. One of the most memorable sayings I heard came from Jose and he said: "I love riding young horses because they keep you honest. They will tell you when your wrong!" and that hit home for me. I would love to have a horse someday that can take me all the way to the top in this sport but I never want to give up training young horses and starting babies. I take a lot of joy in teaching the young ones the ropes and discovering their own special love for a certain discipline whether it be jumping, dressage, reining, trails, or even one who loves obstacles.

Overall I was beyond blessed to be able to attend this week, sprained wrist and all, I wouldn't have traded any part of it for the world.

On To the Next Adventure!

So I have decided to turn this into my information and training blog! I hope to post weekly (at least!) of my thoughts, exercises, and different topics that hopefully will help you in your riding or training.

Although that is my desire for the direction of this blog, The next 3 months this blog will be taken over by posts of my latest adventure. I am ecstatic to announce that I have been selected as one of 10 trainers to compete in the A Home For Ever Horse, Equine Comeback Challenge! 10 rescue horses have been placed with 10 different trainers for 90 days to be broke and trained to the best of our abilities. At the end of the 90 days we will all take our horses to the Pennsylvania National Horse Show and compete against one another to see who has the best horse! We are required to show the horses in a trail class. For those of you who don't know what that is, a trail class is class with all the obstacles a horse may face in the outdoors on a trail ride. The obstacles include tarps, bridges, mail boxes, gates, poles, cross rails, and a few other things. After our trail class is completed we have 3 minuets of freestyle to showcase other talents the horse has learned while in training.


I picked up my horse (Louie) on Monday and will be posting tomorrow about his first week of boot camp! 

I am so blessed to have an opportunity to do something like this. It is truly a dream come true. I'm still pinching myself to make sure I'm awake!

If you would like to follow Louie's facebook page I'm sure he would like that. :P I try my best to post as many pictures as possible there so everyone can watch his transformation!

https://www.facebook.com/ECClouieandcourtney

Day 5

Saturday morning my mom and I woke up bright and early to take a trip to the Aiken Training Track. Here the Thoroughbred horses that don't continue on the racing circuit up north train during the summer months. When the circuit returns south again in the fall, this track is also used for races. 

 

The tree in the infield is where the Aiken bred champion, Blue Peter is buried. Read more about Peter's legacy and the love the community has for him here: http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20120313/AIK0303/303139996

So  beautiful in the morning!

 

 Once we arrived at the farm our day began with a lesson instructed by Linda Allen. I was excited to ride a big bay warmblood that reminded me of a horse I have in training at home. (big and sweet looking) Well needless to say this large sweet looking guy took advantage of his day off and his new rider. Upon bringing him out of the barn and picking up a trot he proceeded to buck, and buck, and buck some more! I came off and he took a lap around the property. After he was caught and quick flat session with Jose, I was back on and we continued in the lesson.

 

 

The afternoon continued with the horses Jose started earlier in the week. Here is the second video of the grey I posted from day one. He is being ridden by one of the girls (Anna) who attended the school. Anna did such an excellent job riding such a greenie!

Day 4

Day 4 was a day off the horses we had been working with and riding in lessons.

We had a morning presentation form Seminole Feeds. Beth Stelzleni, a certified equine nutritionist, talked us through how to properly feed the foals as well as the young performance horse. Beth's presentation was excellent and very informing. One of the things she highlighted was the age old myth that horses can colic if they drink to much water while still hot after a long work out. This is wrong. There is no evidence or tests proven that statement to be true. Horses actually loose a lot more water than we think while working and sweating on a hot day. After a ride is the most ideal time to give a horse water because this is when they want it the most!

After our morning presentations we went out on a tour around the farm to look at babies and mares. Red Top Farms has a fantastic breeding program with many top horses, producing quality sporthorses.  It was interesting to hear which of the babies and mares were related to some of the ones we had been riding through out the week. This peaked my interest in breeding. Up until this week I can't say I have ridden many horses that are bred to be Grand Prix hopeful's. To see the mares who have shown at Spruce Meadow's, have 5 year old babies ready to start out in the 1 10" jumpers I was impressed. I haven't been around such a caliber of horses, it was a great experience and gave me even more of a desire to rise to a higher level in this sport.

 

The baby in the bottom picture lost his mother and has a mini as a foster parent! They were so cute together!! 

Day 3

I am finally coming back to you with the final days of the Young Horse Trainers school. I apologize for the delay!

Day 3 began, continuing the young horses we started the day before in the jumping chute. All of the horses came out the next day ready and willing to continue with what they had learned yesterday. We started a new horse in the chute (the chestnut in the video). He was a two year old and took very well to the idea of the chute. We also brought out a four year old stud named Gizmo. (I though that was the CUTEST name ever!)  Gizmo is the small black horse in the video.

After free jumping the horses we began our afternoon lesson. Linda Allen instructed the lesson and worked on a simple grid with all the horses and riders. This grid was excellent to teach the rider to sit there and let the horse find its way through the grid and sometimes make their own mistakes.

                                       

Willow, Linda's adorable puppy and I sat ring side and watched the lesson on Thursday.

 Day 4, On the way!! :)