More About Feather

Working with Feather has been fantastic! Less than ten sessions with her and last Saturday she followed my movements and cues without using the lead rope! I find this amazing and cannot emphasize it enough. I had no clue she liked me this much and was this willing to follow me. Hear me out: she is an awesome little mare.

These pictures had been taken a few sessions ago by my younger sis. Feather looks so much better now. :)

You go this way, sweetheart!

Attempting to pivot her on the hindquarters. 

Here's Feather's "I'm tirrredddd are we done yet?" expression.

So I really like this picture.

Sweet girl.

I can't recall a time this Paint filly hasn't been fine with anything I've done. She's so awesome.

Horse Sketches

I've been working on drawing a couple decent sketches a day. I'm not sure how much this is improving my skills, but I think today's canvas turned out quite well! (:

Sparkles. I like this one! 

You can see a bit more of the shading detail in this scan. :)

This one doesn't have a name yet. Any ideas?

Caesar

Caesar is a very charming Quarter Horse gelding that I got to know better this past month. He's about six years old, had been a wild bronc, spent time being professionally trained, and now is a dependable ranch horse. :)

His personality is that of an attractive gentleman who gently and persistently lets you know his thoughts on matters. I tremendously enjoyed riding him, even though he had a magnetic force gravitating him towards the fenceline and gate.

He had an enchanting personality in the pasture as well. He came up with the other ranch horses to see what I was up to and sniff the camera before going about his own business (HINT: food). Every time he realized I was focusing the camera on him, he would pause a moment to look and blink at me before wandering off. It was so funny and cute. (:

And yes, if you can't tell by looking at the pictures, this dude really knows how awesome he looks. Which makes him even more attractive. :)

Hiiii guys.

Wait, what are you doing here, exactly?

Sniffing the big, black, clicky object. :)

Yeahh, ain't I hot. And I know it.

And yes, I do have gorgeous eyes and a steel jaw. 

What is this lens hood thing, anyway?

Ugh, more pictures already?

Fine, I guess I'll look nice in this one.

Notice the little birthmark type thing near his flank? I have no idea what it's called, but it's interesting.

Yes, I really am all that.

Airplane ears. (: 

I love how masculine he looks. :) 

I like his tail. AND HIS DAPPLES.

<3 the conformation.

Kicking at a fly.

Also, if you haven't noticed yet, look at his dapples, muscles, and conformation. Now tell me this guy isn't gorgeous..... And I'll still disagree. :)

Yes, We Are Going to Move Forwards

Feather and I had a few discussions today. She was certain that when she wanted to halt she could do just that. I needed to convince her otherwise.

I wasn't able to persuade the filly by myself, though. I had attempted a few times with urging, kissing, and spanking her rump (she ignored it), but unsuccessfully. After realizing my plan of action wasn't working, I had MiniOwner aid me in my persuasion conquest. It took quite a few spanks to the Feather's rump, but finally she grasped the idea!

Just as when I started training Angel, Feather doesn't want to listen to me unless MiniOwner is around. Oh well. That will change with time - I just need more hours with her. To start, though, I will need MiniOwner to back my training and help persuade the filly that what I'm asking of her is the right answer.

Once Feather understood that her idea wasn't as pleasant as mine, things greatly improved! Especially after I brushed her down and we had some peaceful time.

Oh yeah, it was kind of funny. I was grooming Feather next to an empty feed tub, and decided to see how she would react to me rubbing it against her side. I grabbed it up, let her sniff and eye it (even though she already is familiar with it), and then proceeded to gently rub it along her barrel.

She seemed completely fine with me doing this so I started rubbing it along her sides more eagerly. She didn't care. I slid it up her neck, against her chest, down the top of her legs. She still didn't care. I even set it on her rump and she gave it no attention. This filly is seriously WHAT-THE-HECK-AND-WHO-CARES about new things. She is awesome.

Training stats for what we're working on
Leading: Needs some work, but she's improving quickly! Next goal is to have her start following me without hesitance.

Backing: She's about 70% of the way done learning this! I turn to face her hindquarters and then start moving towards her and she just backs. No hesitancy. However, we should start working on turning her while backing!

Turning on the hindquarters: This is a tricky movement that involves the horse's attention, precision, and knowing how to move their body in unnatural ways. Today Feather turned perfectly during 45 degrees of an attempt. I think she's slowly understanding the movement, it just needs practice!

Halting: This is good. :)

Squaring up: Feather is okay at this! Not great, but considering I've worked with her less than five times, she's doing awesomely. We need to work on her precision, but she has the concept straight.

Nacho the Shetland

Nacho is about the cutest pony out there. He is adorable and has a charming personality.

There are quite a few horror stories I've heard concerning the meanest little creatures ever, known as "Shetlands". Well, I'd beg to differ.

Just like with any breed of animal, about 80% of an animal's character comes from training, or lack thereof. To say all Shetlands are the meanest equines is absurd.

Anyway, Nacho is a chestnut pinto Shetland. Somehow his front segment of chestnut was bleached more than on his hind end, and thus he has a very individual look.

Chillin' with his buddies. :)

Riding Jessica on the Ranch

Jessica is a somewhat stubborn little Quarter Horse ranch mare owned by a relative. She is the mother of Caesar and the half-sister of Luke - two more ranch horses you'll meet in later posts.

Her and my personalities clash and we don't really get along. I generally won't refuse riding any horse that isn't too much for me, but it just bugs me when the horse only ever wants to go to a certain place. Which really is a pity, because Jessica keeps her head nice and collected without even being asked.

A few times I attempted cantering loping Jessica, but neither her nor I really did it right. I was a bit unstable and she didn't want to go into the right lead. Which meant we mostly walked and trotted jogged from there on!

About 80% of my riding was done with a bareback pad. A bareback pad is basically somewhat-padded fabric with a cinch. It doesn't do much but keep the seat of your pants clean.

Sometimes I'll see bareback pads with stirrups, but in my opinion those are very unsafe. No one should be relying on safety from a couple layers of flimsy nothings. Much better to keep the bareback pad just that: a bareback pad.

Jessica with the bareback pad. (And no, the top strap is *not* for holding on to while riding.)