I'm not definite yet, but we may be needing a good trainer for my boarder's Arabian mare. Blossom is a 3 year old and went for some time without any handling. She loves her owner and is like a different horse since Brandi got back yesterday from a week long vacation. My daughter can usually catch her and she does well. I've not been able to handle her or work with her because of the knee, but she has been started. She's been worked in the round pen and is just learning how to flex or bend. She doesn't tie really well but is making progress with that too. She will lead, and lets us females pick her feet. She's been exposed to saddle pads, had a saddle on at one point way in the past. She seems to do better with females, but she is an Arabian and a little pushy, disrespectful and is a little spooky still.

Brandi has laid on her, but is rushing the riding, IMO. I'd rather see her started under saddle by a natural horsemanship trainer and Brandi and her dad are about ready to go ahead and do this. She needs continued ground work but will probably respond quickly with a professional trainer and daily work.

Brandi works and doesn't really have the time to put in with this mare. Her dad had mentioned he'd help her with training fees and I feel it would be the smartest safest thing to do. Probably 30 days would be fine and we should have the barn up with lights so we'll be able to spend much more time with Blossom and all the horses then.

We do not want any trainers who don't follow the natural horsemanship methods and techniques. We are looking to "gentle" this horse and not "break" her.

Anyone know of anyone??

The ferrier I work for is a horse trainer and he is wonderful! Where do you live so I can give him a distance and I'll give him a call and see if he would be interested? Is that alright with you?
-Leigh

yeah Leigh,

Ask if he uses natural horsemanship methods, any particular clinician that he likes/follows?, what he charges for 30 days?, if that will include the horse being worked every day, 4 or 5 days a week? any discounts for the horse not being totally wild and somewhat started?


I would be interested in having a trainer that would take the mare to their place for some serious, daily training. I doubt I could afford prices if they include travel, with gas prices as they are, for the training I'm looking for.

And again, this isn't my horse, a boarder and I'm not sure if the owners have quite decided on doing this. But I am encouraging them though!! :)

Nevermind. We're going to train ourselves, Clinton Anderson style!! :)

Hey girl,
Next time you are looking for a trainer, remember me. I charge $350.00 for 30 days of riding. horses are ridden daily on trails and around cattle. They are also thought roundpen and ground manners. Look in the nov. Mid-south horse review for a write up on me and my farm.

Thanks
Megan

How is blossom doing? We started both Mystic and Brandy ourselves, but we based on the Parelli methods. Both were going on trail rides as babies, then we started taking them on walks everywhere, then made them carry saddles- Oh the evilness! Brandy still doesn't like the "Evil Hay Baler", but after doing this, I got on her for the 1st time this summer and I got her to follow Mystic & Joey. Took a little lead rope swatting on the behind to urge her along, but she figured it out. I don't have a round pen to work on her learning to speed up with commands. I wouldn't want to be on her and urge speed without one. That was how we did Mystic too. When we sent her to the trainer, he was so impressed that he was riding her after 2 days in a round pen. He said she rode like a dream after a week. We hadn't told him about her previous experience. They rode her twice a day for about 30 minutes each time.

I've got the same issue with Cheyenne who we just bred. She had previously been ridden and often by previous owners who RAN her and didn't keep her in her gait. So every time we went on our long walk trail rides, she would try to run off with me and fling her head. After 2 times of this, I started to just ride Nicky as we weren't getting to ride often with me in school and working full time. She has never bucked though. I tried a hackamore(soft rope over the nose- took a while to find that and it is what we used on Mystic when we started her) and had the same problem so I don't think it is a bit thing. Need to get her teeth checked out just in case.

Funny thing though- doing the parelli seven games, I can throw a rope all over and around her. Even when I stand on top of a round bale above her. She walks over the tarp exercise, She is expert at standing for the farrier tied with no assistance from us. After you get her started leading, she is fine. Loads Fine, Not the greatest at worming, but pour over wormer solved that. She backs up fine with the lead rope. You get on her and she will tuck her head, and bend. We have worked on a lot of her trust issues since we had her. She no longer runs to the "back forty-or ten really". She had been harrassed in her pen by some kids before we got her and who knows what else. Boy a round pen would sure help me! I'm heavily thinking about taking up Meagan on her offer. If she's pregnant, we might just do more ground stuff and pasture work until after the baby is born.

Thanks for asking about Blossom, she is doing great. Work was making things, time wise, harder. I didn't have the time needed to train a young horse. Everything Blossom had learned previous, I taught her. She had been taught to lunge, had been saddled, leaded fairly well. I had been watching the Clinton Anderson DVDs and working her in the round pen. Had taught her to yield hindquarter, flex head and neck, back up with a slight wiggle of the rope, yield her front shoulders and she even started side passing.

After seeing Clinton in person in, Tunica, Ms. I could not wait to get home to my beautiful girl. I had learned so much. We learned and saw first hand about disrespectful and pushy horses, how to trailer load a problem horse , how to break a two year old and we saw Clinton show off his gelding, Diez, riding him with no bridle doing stops, spins and lead changes.

When we got home at eleven o'clock that night we all got our horses out and rode, even me and Blossom. It was her first ride and she was wonderful. I rode her bareback with only halter and lead rope. I rode her all over the yard. She never offered to buck, she only did what I asked of her. It was so awesome!!!!

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee210/f...83/P7291758.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee210/f...83/P7291757.jpg

She showed a slight limp for several weeks and we thought it was just her feet. The farrier told us it was white line disease, which we treated with tea tree oil. The limp did not get any better, so we had to vet check her out. He came for a farm call and did a field test and said she had something going on in her front right ankle. So we took her in for and x-ray and it revealed some very devastating news. She had a bone spur and it really killed me. He told me that she would not be the riding horse I had dreamed of. The only thing we could do was let her rest for a year and breed her. The change in hormones and increase in metabolism could help to eat away at the crystals in the bone spur. It was very hard to swallow. Blossom had been the most wonderful horse, so eager to learn and to do what I asked of her.

This happened in late August and the vet recommended a breeder to see, so that I could get my mind off of the devastating news. We did find a sire to breed her to that was absolutely fabulous. A quarter horse, we were going to have a quarab baby. The daddy was a bay roan and his bone structure compensated for her weak ankles. Unfortunately, being late in the year we caught her going out of season rather than coming into season. It was too late, and the baby would have been a really late baby anyway, so we look forward to the breeding this spring.

Blossom is a wonderful animal and will make a great mother. She has already taken up with little Harley. She is like his guardian.[QUOTE]

That was terrible news! Well she will have excellent ground manners won't she! It looks like she gets around the pasture mighty well in the pictures! I don't have any knowlege of that condition, but isn't it extra bone maybe sorta like arthritis? Poor Blossom. Just so you know, there is a gorgeous dapple gray AQHA stud at MSU named ACE. He has points, stuff like that and is grandson of Peppy San Badger I believe. They have a services auction each year and not too many people bid on them. Might get one cheap.

Blue Rose would you pm me the info that you just posted. I do not have a side to side scroll so I could not read all that info. My mom and I are trading horses. She has Blossoms half sister, who is a year and a half old, she is too much horse for mom. Her name is Misty. Misty is half mustang and half Arabian, she and Blossom have the same dad. She is a red roan with really long legs and is the most intelligent horse I have ever worked with. She is going to be my riding horse. I am fixing to be training a good bit so I will have horses to ride for a while, til she is old enough to ride.

This is why Harley is perfect for mom and a black horse has always been her dream. Harley is the sweetest horse I think I have ever meet. My mom needs a calm horse with a good disposition. I think she bit off more than she could chew with Misty. You definitely have to be dominant with her, if she senses any weakness she will try you.

And that is an absolutely beautiful horse!

I would be interested in the stallion auction link as well.. Please..

Letitia

I use to go to school at MsState a few years back before I was mobilized with my unit. I was there when they first bought ACE, he was such a sweet boy. Last I saw him he was riding in the roundpen with one of the barn crew. I miss being around the horses and the people.

Here's the Websites---

STALLIONS AT MSU.
http://www.msstate.edu/research/equine/stallionshtm.htm

STALLION AUCTION PAGE:
http://www.cvm.msstate.edu/StallionAuction/benefits.html

K7, what happened to Eikon? VR