ridehorses
5th Feb 2005, 07:15 PM
So, I've had Cotton + Trigger about a month and a half now, and Andy a full week :) They're getting on okay...Cotton + Trigger tend to stick together , but they're not mean or excluding of Andy - he just likes to do his own thing.
It's been raining most of the week (stopped on Thursday) so all i could really do with Andy was grooming, saddling/unsaddling, bridling, mounting and other things just to 'try' him/get a feel for his personality. Today is GORGEOUS! It's February and 65-70 degrees! not a cloud in the sky. plus i'm off high school for a WHOLE WEEK for Mardi Gras! I do love the south! :D
I got up, fed em a little early, gave them a couple hours, then went out to ride. I rode Andy first. I had to ride bareback because Cotton's saddle (he's 16.1 and a wiiiide QH) wasn't going to cut it, plus he needs a girth about 3 sizes smaller....:D he's about 14.1, lol. He did not want to leave the others who were snug in the barn munching on hay. I think he was testing his boundaries with me also. We headed out front first. I was told he is excellent in traffic on roads, so we headed down the road. It's not a busy highway or anything, but we encountered vehicles. He didn't blink. We went down a ways one way, then down some more the other, met the neighbor's horse and looped all he way to back behind our 30 acre hay field. From the hay field you can see everything - pasture, barn, house, etc. It's like being out in the plains! We have a tree line that outlines our property, a few trees in the pasture, but that's about it.
He got a little flighty finding himself off the road and in the middle of a huge field. He couldn't see the other horses (they were in the barn on purpose) but he saw the barn and sped up. We outlined the whole field so he could see everything, then when he insisted on trying to bolt back, we went to one of the far corners and did some circles to relax. Eventually he settled down and listened to me. He's very responsive when he isn't distracted. Very supple and a cute mover. We walked for a long while, then headed home. I got off him well away from the barn and led him to the barn. overall a positive ride!
Then i felt guilty for not slightly ignoring cotton over the past few days, so i took him out. He too has barn sour issues, so straight we went...all the way to the back tree line of the hay field. He settled down so we did some circles and serpentines across the field. He spooked at anthills and sticks :rolleyes: I swear he spooks and almost gets me off at things he's seen a million times, but when i get all prepared and quietly introduce him to the neighbor's flapping blue tarp, he doesn't even blink. He keeps me on my toes! He worked up a sweat for the first time in a while. They are all getting a little pudgey...:eek:
Next hurdle will be getting them to go out together. I'll probably put my sister on Andy one day this week and I'll take cotton and see how it goes. They're definitely not friends, but they're not hostile either.
And this post is already long enough, but i need advice on one last thing! Cotton's owner has offered to sell Cotton + Trigger to us. Now, we have 3 including andy, and i'm not sure how trigger is going to take being left alone a lot when andy and cotton are out on rides. Should we just keep Andy + Cotton? Trigger is a formerly abused pony, and the only horse he's ever really 'himself' with is Cotton. They're a close pair, so i don't really want to split them, but i'm afraid it might be harder on him being left alone all the time. To those of you out there who have threesomes yourselves ... what do you think?
Oh, and Cotton's owner is coming to ride him today for the first time since we've had them. I'm a little nervous! I don't want him to think i've made a total softie of his big boy! I know he's very pleased with the progress i've made with Trigger though. I'll let you know how it goes!
:)
It's been raining most of the week (stopped on Thursday) so all i could really do with Andy was grooming, saddling/unsaddling, bridling, mounting and other things just to 'try' him/get a feel for his personality. Today is GORGEOUS! It's February and 65-70 degrees! not a cloud in the sky. plus i'm off high school for a WHOLE WEEK for Mardi Gras! I do love the south! :D
I got up, fed em a little early, gave them a couple hours, then went out to ride. I rode Andy first. I had to ride bareback because Cotton's saddle (he's 16.1 and a wiiiide QH) wasn't going to cut it, plus he needs a girth about 3 sizes smaller....:D he's about 14.1, lol. He did not want to leave the others who were snug in the barn munching on hay. I think he was testing his boundaries with me also. We headed out front first. I was told he is excellent in traffic on roads, so we headed down the road. It's not a busy highway or anything, but we encountered vehicles. He didn't blink. We went down a ways one way, then down some more the other, met the neighbor's horse and looped all he way to back behind our 30 acre hay field. From the hay field you can see everything - pasture, barn, house, etc. It's like being out in the plains! We have a tree line that outlines our property, a few trees in the pasture, but that's about it.
He got a little flighty finding himself off the road and in the middle of a huge field. He couldn't see the other horses (they were in the barn on purpose) but he saw the barn and sped up. We outlined the whole field so he could see everything, then when he insisted on trying to bolt back, we went to one of the far corners and did some circles to relax. Eventually he settled down and listened to me. He's very responsive when he isn't distracted. Very supple and a cute mover. We walked for a long while, then headed home. I got off him well away from the barn and led him to the barn. overall a positive ride!
Then i felt guilty for not slightly ignoring cotton over the past few days, so i took him out. He too has barn sour issues, so straight we went...all the way to the back tree line of the hay field. He settled down so we did some circles and serpentines across the field. He spooked at anthills and sticks :rolleyes: I swear he spooks and almost gets me off at things he's seen a million times, but when i get all prepared and quietly introduce him to the neighbor's flapping blue tarp, he doesn't even blink. He keeps me on my toes! He worked up a sweat for the first time in a while. They are all getting a little pudgey...:eek:
Next hurdle will be getting them to go out together. I'll probably put my sister on Andy one day this week and I'll take cotton and see how it goes. They're definitely not friends, but they're not hostile either.
And this post is already long enough, but i need advice on one last thing! Cotton's owner has offered to sell Cotton + Trigger to us. Now, we have 3 including andy, and i'm not sure how trigger is going to take being left alone a lot when andy and cotton are out on rides. Should we just keep Andy + Cotton? Trigger is a formerly abused pony, and the only horse he's ever really 'himself' with is Cotton. They're a close pair, so i don't really want to split them, but i'm afraid it might be harder on him being left alone all the time. To those of you out there who have threesomes yourselves ... what do you think?
Oh, and Cotton's owner is coming to ride him today for the first time since we've had them. I'm a little nervous! I don't want him to think i've made a total softie of his big boy! I know he's very pleased with the progress i've made with Trigger though. I'll let you know how it goes!
:)