Kindergarten

I have gotten to know Kai a bit now. He is easy to handle, to catch and lead, but when it comes to the things he needs to know for riding, well- he knows nothing.
Yesterday, I started his training. I worked him in his halter, just sending him around me to see what he knows.... well, basically, nothing! Oh, he goes around but all worried like he's in trouble. When I wiggled the rope he about jumped out of his skin. It took me 45 minutes of working with him to get him to relax, and accept that the rope and the stick weren't horse eatin' monsters, and that it was quite possible for me to lay the stick on his back, send him around, change directions, and face up without him having to be on guard. This photo was taken at the end of the session, after he had things figured out.

Before then, he was pulling, trying to lope in the 6 ft. circle I had him in, blowing out sideways or in reverse- anything he could think of. I get the feeling that previously when asked to do groundwork, he may have tried these evasive tactics and been successful in getting out of work. However..... that doesn't work with me! We both were tired and sweaty, but the light was beginning to show at the end of the tunnel. After a bit, I asked him for lateral flexion- just standing beside him and asking him to give me his nose.... not so much as a little give. So I stopped there, and today, that's where I started.
I put him in my bosal for this lesson. I took a little video- initially he gave me just a little give, (why I said "good boy") and then he started moving his feet- which isn't what I was asking for; I just wanted him to soften his jaw and flex laterally.

My camera ran out of battery, but after a few circles, he stopped his feet and gave to the pressure. We worked on both sides; I'd do one side until he got it, and licked his lips in relaxation, then do the other side until I got the same results. 4 times each side, then we moved on to sacking him out with the get down end of the mecate. Of course, he got a little jumpy, but quickly figured out that all I wanted him to do was stand still while I flicked the rope over, under, and beside him. Good boy! That was enough for today. Tomorrow, I would like to review everything, then move on to sacking him out, probably the plastic bag tied to the end of a stock whip. (insert evil grin) That should get him going! But he's 4 now, not a colt, so I'm hoping he is mentally mature enough to keep on figuring things out fairly rapidly.
I'm also trying to organize a Daryl Gibb clinic; here is a little bio on him. He  should be good for me and Kai, and several other people are interested so I hope I can make it happen.

I really enjoyed this video of Daryl- if you have the time, give it a watch.

Mr. Kai

Kai is really looking a lot better now, still retaining some of that winter hair but a steady diet of unlimited hay, grass and Hoffmans Minerals really has him picking up- he is so shiny and happy now.

I keep Rio in a separate stall at night, so at morning turnout they play a bit- and Kai is the instigator. He is usually the one who comes over to Rio, snakes his neck at him, egging him into playing with him.

Rio towers over Kai....

so Kai usually backs down....

for a while anyway.... then he just has to come back and pester again!

Hey Rio- check out my six pack!

Kai is ready now for training, so today after work I'm hooking up the trailer and hauling him to the arena. 

Also, miss Amber has a date with the trainer on Monday. She is going to be introduced to sheep, and assessed - I'm excited! 

Wordless Wednesday

While we're on the subject....

of hineys, here's the daddy of 'em all! Can't leave Beamer out!

Butt shots

I was looking at butts today.....

Horse butts!!!!

This is Rio; he and Kai are sons of Beamer and Belle, and Belle's nickname is Big Butt Belle. 

 Rio got his mama's butt.

Kai still needs to fill out; you can see that he lacks muscle tone, but I think once he is the way I like 'em, his butt will be bigger than his belly.

Josie at a year old is looking pretty good, her mama was my stout mare Chickory

Can't wait to see her as an adult!

Posturing.

It's a guy thing. The boys do this silly game, but they don't do it with Josie.

It starts off innocently enough.....

A little nip here and there....

and there....

a protest....

submission....

and peace.

Until next time, that is!

Josie: "I'm outa here!"

Yeah! Get outa here, little sister!

We're getting there

I'm learning more about Kai every day. Basically he's pretty sweet, like he was as a baby. He is quite nervous when I ask anything of him, like turning with the rope around his butt, or moving his shoulder over. But he also gets it quite quickly, as I ask with clarity and intent, and pay no mind to his nervous shenanigans.

His feet were pretty bad, way overgrown and laid over bars, embedded bar, some flare and separation that will take some time to trim out. He did a lot of licking and chewing as I worked on him.

Left hind- you can see the overgrown bars curling in towards the frog, it must have been painful, poor guy. I was watching him run in pasture and thought he was short striding on the back- this would be why. I'll watch tomorrow and see if he is moving a little freer. I didn't complete the trim today, I like to take my time and make sure I'm doing a good job. Here is what this hoof looked like when I stopped for today:

He is starting to pick up, the deworming helped and he is on free choice Hoffmans Minerals, and on full turnout with the other horses as of today, as well as free choice hay at night.

The remnants of his winter hair are coming off, another week and he should be all slicked off like his brother and sister.

Hooligans!

Once he is in better shape, his neck and rump should fill out, and he will look much better. He has a long way to go before he is in as good shape as Rio!

My plan is to finish trimming his feet tomorrow, and then starting next week schooling begins in earnest. 

Movin' around

Random Beamer shot, just so we don't forget how handsome he is while we talk about his kidz!
Kai is settling in well, getting daily turnout with his siblings and in a separate stall at night- but today, I had to change things up as his stall is too exposed to the rain, and it's getting muddy, with our usual rainy June looming it was time to put him in with one of the others. I had thought of having all 3 of them together in the big stall, but a couple of minutes of testing that out ruled it out- way too much horseplay for confined quarters. He and Rio can get a little rough with each other- okay out in pasture but not in the stall.

So now Rio is right next to Beamer- no dividing alley, and Beamer is so happy to have his buddy Rio to talk to and nuzzle and nip, and Rio is really good with not pestering his daddy.
Josie and Kai get along really well too, I think she is happy that Kai isn't as big as his brother- but she really held her own with Rio, so Kai will be a piece of cake for her.
Here is what the new set-up looks like:

I did a touch up on Kai's front feet today, I was happy that some of the bar that I had thinned out had popped and could be easily trimmed off, now he can grow healthy sole. He was easier to handle today too, I think his feet are more comfortable for him. Back feet get done tomorrow.
I have been doing a little bit of ground work every time I handle him; today I did the rope around the butt exercise- he sure didn't like that at first, but he got it pretty fast. I think he has bluffed his way through life so far- "get jumpy or resistant and then people leave you alone" is what he seems to be doing- but Hah! That doesn't work with me. I always insist that he comply, but without getting harsh with him.. I'm going to treat him like a 2 yr old that knows nothing and put him through my whole program from the ground up. Even though he may have done some of these things before, I don't know him well enough yet, so he gets the basics first. We'll build a good foundation.
Meanwhile, he can play, and graze, and fill out.

All the Beamer kidz

I turn Rio and Josie out in the morning, but since Kai is still limited, I waited until this afternoon after watching the Preakness to turn him out.

What a great race! Love California Chrome and his jockey did a great job! Bring on the Belmont!

I decided to turn Kai out with the other two, they have been across the fence from each other for 2 nights now- and there was no drama- perfect!

In fact, I had to kiss them up to get some action for my photos! But I didn't get any good ones because they were just behaving themselves. *grin*

My two kidz! 

Photo-bombed by Reba. 

I don't think I need to worry about these two getting along.

Even Rio was not concerned about his brother being added to the herd- I was wondering, because the first night he was lunging at him across the fence, but I guess they must have their pecking order figured out.

Speaking of Rio, he is looking downright gorgeous!

Again.... photobombed... by Tess this time!  Gotta love those 12 o'clock dogs.

Kai

Since Kai isn't accustomed to long hours on grass yet, I kept him in the bigger stall that Rio and Josie share when I turned them out today. Then when I came home, I turned him out on one of the paddocks that has been grazed down a bit, while his siblings went out on the longer grass in the next paddock. I made sure to bring my camera, and I wasn't disappointed. Kai had a blast running around!

He flags his tail like Rio does.  I think he enjoyed having flat ground to run on, as he has been in rolling land for the last 3 years.

Kicking up his heels just like his daddy does.

I don't know why but this picture makes me smile.

That stuff on his muzzle is dewormer, he got Eqvalan Gold today.
On the other side of the fence, Rio and Josie were having a blast too.

I think Kai is going to have a lot of fun with them once I get them all together.

I did get a preliminary trim on those front feet today. He wasn't perfect, but he wasn't bad; I think just being patient with him will go a long way.
I measured him- after I trimmed his feet- and I was pleasantly surprised to see that he is actually a little bit over 15 hands! I guess he just looks tiny compared to his "little" brother, Rio.
But doesn't he just look like Beamer in this next photo!

Bringing Kai home

Oh yes I did.

I can rationalize it, really I can!

Beamer has a little arthritis in his left knee, so he is only ok for light riding now. Josie is only a yearling. Soooo.... when I heard Kai was available, I had to go see him. For those of you who don't know, Kai is Midnight Coyote, full brother to Rio, Nitro, and Janice's mare Jazz (aka Sparkle) if you look on the labels list on my sidebar, you will find all their stories. Since I lost Stella last year, I didn't have a Belle/Beamer baby of my own (Rio belongs to Shayla). 

Good rationalizing, huh! 

The price was right, the timing was right, and I am one of those breeders who likes to be responsible for the horses I have caused to be brought into the world. 

So I bought him, and brought him home tonight. He is 4 years old, has had some groundwork done and been sat on but not much more , so he is a prefect project for me.

Here are photos of the meet'n'greet.

Beamer come a-runnin'. Thought perhaps it was a mare comin' to visit.... I had to tell him to "put it away!!!"

The meeting of the boys. The alleyway between Beamer's stall and Rio's stall is about 4 ft. wide, just enough so that they can touch noses but not pester each other. They both got to say hi to Kai.

Josie had to wait her turn. 

This is the same pen that Kai was in when he was here as a 2 yr old for a month, so he headed straight for the feed bunk, chock full of grass hay. Kai is a lot smaller than Rio, I'll measure him tomorrow but he's somewhere between 14.2 and 14.3. Just my size!

Of course he was carefully watched by the peanut gallery, willing him to come closer.....

so that they could both bite him! With the formalities over, and pecking order momentarily established, the left him in peace- but kept an eye on him.

Kai checked the boundaries of his stall....

and headed back to the feeder. 

I'm pretty sure he knows where he is, and recognized Beamer and Rio. There was no squealing or carrying on, and it's all quiet out there when I checked a few minutes ago. As you can see, Kai needs a little TLC , but it won't take long for him to blossom. Little does he know, his world is about to change even more; once he is settled in , feet done and dewormed, he gets to learn all about working for a living, school is in!

He still gives the best horse kisses, just like he did since he was a baby, and he got along well with the horses he has been living with the last 3 1/2 years. I think I'll have fun training him, and I hope to hit some trails with him by mid summer. 

Welcome home, Kai!

April 24th, 2010, when Kai was only minutes old.