One Hoof infront of the Other

 I realize I am no good at keeping my promises... oops :) If you can forgive me, I am here to give you the Little man's update!

Week 5 was a big week with many good learning experiences. Louie spent a lot of time riding out and about around the farm. We were able to venture further and further with more confidence each day. When training young horses out on a trail or teaching them to go outside of the arena I will generally start on the ground. If my horses won't behave on the rope, They wont behave under saddle.  As I mentioned a few weeks ago this is what I did with Louie. I then, once the are under saddle, will gradually work my way out further and further from the barn. The barn for most horses is their comfort zone. By taking Louie out of his comfort zone in small steps we provide a good, safe experience for him building his confidence each time. When I was in South Carolina for the Young Jumper Trainers School one of the trainers there told us "never show a young horse what they can't do" and I love that saying. We have to build good experiences for these horses to be able to grow and flourish and gain confidence in themselves as well as in us as the leader.

Louie spent more time trotting under saddle this week. As a horse bred for harness racing, he isn't the most natural at trotting in a pleasure horse type of way. Just like some people have to work harder at math than others, Louie has to work harder to keep his legs in order :) and trot properly. We also worked on the standing patiently at the gate and side passing along the wall. All of these steps will eventually be combined together so he can open and close the gate smoothly, when asked.

Here is our week 5 video:

Seeings how I am a bit behind the game, I will list my goals for our weeks to come in the next post!

Happy Labor Day!


Love........... Courtney and Louie

Louie Week 4 Equine Comeback Challenge

Hello all!

Little Louie is moving on and learning more and more each week. This week Louie took his first off site adventure to Wild Side Ranch, home of Minteer Training. I work for Dave Minteer and he has taught me everything I know. I am beyond blessed to be able to learn from such a wealth of knowledge as Dave is. So of course, I had to bring the Little Louie over to get Dave's opinion on him. I was so impressed with Louie's relaxed manner away from home. He could care less about the different arena and his new surroundings. The arena at Wild Side is a coverall and is much louder than our arena at home. Even with the wind flapping the coverall (you can hear it in the video) he remained a cool customer. We did some ground work and hopped on. The video shows our first few steps of trot and the beginning stages of lateral work, side-passing off of each leg.

The week progressed and I was able to work Louie outside under saddle. I was very impressed that he took in his surroundings but was happy to walk forward where I asked. He showed me his first "spook" which was nothing more than an abrupt stop. A few minutes working past the scary object and on we went. I couldn't be happier that he is so willing to work through things and not lock up in a this-is-scary-I'm-going-to-check-my-brain-out attitude. I'm sure you have all been in that position and know there is nothing more frustrating. 

This week we also rounded August 14 which means we are only 2 months away from the Pennsylvania National Horse Show. (Check out the link for more information on the finals!) I here the words 2 months and my hands get clammy thinking of all the work we have to do before PA. I then think about how far this little horse has come in only 4 weeks. Four weeks ago he didn't know what a saddle or a rider even was. He was ruling his own life in his pasture having a grand ol' time with his buddy Neil. (Neil is another Equine Comeback Challenge horse. you can find his progress here:https://www.facebook.com/Neilscomebackchallenge) So despite the work we have yet to accomplish, I am blessed with a willing partner and a desire to give Louie the best start on life in my power.

We look forward to updating you again soon!

Love............. Louie

Third Week is the Charm

Hello all!

Week Three is down and Louie is again finishing with straight A's!

Unfortunately I don't have any video's for this week. :( My camera man (aka my mom) has been out of town all week.

I began this week in hopes to spend more and more time on Louie's back, as well as teach him to line drive outside. Our rides increased every day by 5 minuets. (give or take) With his lack of muscle and being on the thinner side of things, I don't want to push it too far and end up with an injury. Although walking for 10 min's at the beginning of the week seemed difficult, by Friday walking for 30 minuets was a piece of cake! It's always encouraging to see his improvements already. I was able to line drive him outside one day and he seemed to love working outdoors. (even I get bored within our arena walls so I'm just as glad to get out!) We don't have an outdoor arena but plenty of great spaces to work. That day after line driving him outside we went for our ride and towards the end I decided, What the heck. If he will stand long enough for me to manage to get the gate open, lets go for a ride outside! Sure enough, the smart little man he is, he stood perfectly while I pushed the gate off of the hook and out he went. He was as happy as a clam to walk wherever he pleased, ears forward and happy to go! I was trilled with his levelheadedness (if that wasn't a word, it is now ;)) about everything outside and his willingness to go.

We continued working over our obstacles but this week he did them under saddle. The tarp was no big deal and I had him drag the bag of can's from his back.

I was very pleased with Louie's progress this week. Looking forward, Little Louie is going to take a trip over to another barn this week. It will  be interesting to see how he does with that. I don't foresee any problems but, you never know! I again want to build on his bending and walking,and giving to the bit. I'm sure we will venture out of the ring more this week and possibly introduce a few steps of trot.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Love,
 Louie....................... and that person that give's me carrots :)

Louie's Second Week on the Job

I trust you all are excited to hear about what the handsome little man accomplished this week! I will not disappoint... Here is his update!

Louie began his second week continuing on the things he learned in week one. We began desensitizing with new objects, and building on the ground work he learned in week one. He also spent more and more time under saddle as the week went on. I was happy to see his personality shine through this week. His expression seems to have changed from obeying me out of fear to obeying me because hes beginning to trust and explore the world! He is becoming more expressive about his work (not in a naughty way thankfully!) but eager to do what I've asked. We built on the round pen lessons from last week and he understood the next step of following me wherever I asked.

The first video is a general overview of what we did this week. The second video gives you a good taste of his stride and how he moves. Even while cross cantering and trotting quite strung out I think he will be a nice mover in the end. He has a HUGE stride for such a little horse, and carries himself like he's 15.3hh. He thinks he's king of the world.... (We'll let him live in his fantasy for now ;) )

      

This up coming week I hope to establish a bit more steering and bending with the bit. He likes to chew on the bit constantly right now, which I will expect for awhile until he's comfortable with it. As of right now I think we will spend awhile just walking. He is still building muscle and is quite weak when it comes to holding a rider. I also hope to get him outside some more, ground driving and working in open spaces, while still keeping his mind on his job. (We're easily distracted when it comes to butterflies, birds and the great outdoors.)

Please feel free to drop some comments! I would love to answer questions or take comments on what you would like to see on this blog!

Have a wonderful week! 

Love, 

Louie...... and Courtney too :)