We are excited to introduce to you our Training Series that we will be doing in 2012.
Series #1 General Horsemanship Tips. This series will include a variety of information related to riding horses, horse tack, taking care of your horse, and what we learn along the way. This series will start in the spring.
Series #2 Colt Starting. In this series we will be taking you through each step of colt starting, how long each step takes, what you should expect, and staying motivated when training your colt. This series will start soon.
Starting at the end of February or the beginning of March, depending upon when our first mare foals, we will be doing Series #3 Raising Foals. This series will include discussions (and of course great photos!) when our mares foal, the first few hours after birth, how to handle the new foal in those first few weeks, and how to start teaching your foal how to lead and be groomed. We'll also show you how to avoid spoiling your foal. Again, this will start possibly the end of February, beginning of March.
All of these series will be posted on our Round Pen page on our website. As our series unfolds, each post will be linked back to that page in an easy to read format.
We hope you stay in the saddle with us as this exciting new year unfolds......
Friday, January 13, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Horse Sense
1. Beware of those that "know it all" with horses. They have stopped learning.
2. Training horses is very difficult. It takes a lot of patience, a lot of time, consistency, impeccable timing, the ability to read body language, and the ability to adjust your technique from horse to horse. These things take time and lots of practice. Be patient and don't get discouraged. Anything of worth takes a lot of work. The reward will be worth it.
2. Training horses is very difficult. It takes a lot of patience, a lot of time, consistency, impeccable timing, the ability to read body language, and the ability to adjust your technique from horse to horse. These things take time and lots of practice. Be patient and don't get discouraged. Anything of worth takes a lot of work. The reward will be worth it.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Negotiating
What do you do when your daughter comes to you with a proposition?
"Dad, I'd like to make you a proposition."
"Okay."
"Well, you know I don't have any money but I want to make you an offer on one of your new foals coming."
"What kind of an offer?"
"Well, I'll train one of your new foals and then sell it. You'd get a great trainer at a discounted price and then I'll let you keep 50% of my profits."
How can you pass up an offer like that?
Stay tuned! We will keep you up to date on how our little trainer is doing. Those will be some fun posts!
Housekeeping....website updates
We've been busy sprucing up our website....
If you live in our area, check out our events page. Not only do we host fun, family Gymkhanas in the summer, but this summer we'd like to add roping's and clinics to our list of horse events. If you are a local, contact us, if you are interested in participating in any of these events.
Our Gymkhanas are designed for the whole family to have fun- from little pee-wees up to adults. We run all types of events, the most popular ones being barrels and poles. We usually change the events from month to month so that you and your horse can have the opportunity to work on new skills as well as polish what you already know. It's a ton of fun!
We've also polished our For Sale page and added more horses for sale. It's so important to find the horse that suits your needs and fits your personality. We hope to help you find the perfect horse for you!
Stay tuned....we are working on our Foal 2012 page. That page will show you our crop of foals coming this year. Some special goodies that we will post there and on this blog- we will take you with us as the mares birth, imprinting, and starting a foal from the very beginning. You'll be with us every step of the way. Lots of good stuff ahead....
If you live in our area, check out our events page. Not only do we host fun, family Gymkhanas in the summer, but this summer we'd like to add roping's and clinics to our list of horse events. If you are a local, contact us, if you are interested in participating in any of these events.
Our Gymkhanas are designed for the whole family to have fun- from little pee-wees up to adults. We run all types of events, the most popular ones being barrels and poles. We usually change the events from month to month so that you and your horse can have the opportunity to work on new skills as well as polish what you already know. It's a ton of fun!
We've also polished our For Sale page and added more horses for sale. It's so important to find the horse that suits your needs and fits your personality. We hope to help you find the perfect horse for you!
Stay tuned....we are working on our Foal 2012 page. That page will show you our crop of foals coming this year. Some special goodies that we will post there and on this blog- we will take you with us as the mares birth, imprinting, and starting a foal from the very beginning. You'll be with us every step of the way. Lots of good stuff ahead....
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
How much hay do you feed a horse?
People always wonder how much hay do you feed a horse. A healthy horse needs to be fed on average 2% of it's body weight. If it's winter, or the horse is underweight, or if the horse is being worked hard, you increase that to 2.5-3%.
For example, if you have 1000lb, 15 hand horse, you'll feed it 20lbs a day of dry matter. If you have hay bales that weigh 80lbs., then you'll go through that hay bale in 4 days.
The bottom line is that you need to be daily watching your horse. Every horse is different. If your horse is dropping weight, you'll need to increase the amount or adjust the type of feed. If your horse is starting to put on weight, back off on the amount your are giving your horse.
Also, don't forget to adjust the amount of hay you feed your horse if you work your horse out or if it's cold.
It's best to be feeding your horses at least twice a day. Remember that horses are grazing animals. It is more natural for them to be eating in small amounts more frequently throughout the day.
The bottom line is that you need to be daily watching your horse. Every horse is different. If your horse is dropping weight, you'll need to increase the amount or adjust the type of feed. If your horse is starting to put on weight, back off on the amount your are giving your horse.
Also, don't forget to adjust the amount of hay you feed your horse if you work your horse out or if it's cold.
It's best to be feeding your horses at least twice a day. Remember that horses are grazing animals. It is more natural for them to be eating in small amounts more frequently throughout the day.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
What are your Horse Goals for 2012?
Have you thought about what you want to accomplish with your horses for 2012?
It could be anything from getting a saddle on your horse, working on your balance when you ride, starting your horse on cattle, or starting your horse in the show circuit.
We got our January 2012 Horse & Rider magazine in the mail and it had a great article about setting and achieving your goals. A lady by the name of Roxanne Peters had the goal to start showing in the NRCHA circuit in the limited non-pro division. She had tons of odds to overcome. She worked full-time and had a limited income. But she wrote down her dream and started working at it. In her words, "Little did I know that fate would intervene and my dream would grow." In the end she ended up standing in the winners circle.
You will never know what can happen unless you try.
It could be anything from getting a saddle on your horse, working on your balance when you ride, starting your horse on cattle, or starting your horse in the show circuit.
We got our January 2012 Horse & Rider magazine in the mail and it had a great article about setting and achieving your goals. A lady by the name of Roxanne Peters had the goal to start showing in the NRCHA circuit in the limited non-pro division. She had tons of odds to overcome. She worked full-time and had a limited income. But she wrote down her dream and started working at it. In her words, "Little did I know that fate would intervene and my dream would grow." In the end she ended up standing in the winners circle.
You will never know what can happen unless you try.
It's a great article, only found in January 2012 Horse & Rider magazine.
So, what are your horse goals for 2012?
The Ranch is our Canvas
The wonderful thing about living on a ranch is that you have so many things around you from which to make Christmas gifts. And with 7 kids making gifts for each other, it's exciting to see the things they come up with.
A book shelf, an airplane, a boat formed from a hollowed out piece of wood, painted pieces of wood and a "forget-me" stick.
A wire picture holder Josh made for one of the kids, made from wood and wire lying around the ranch.
A bow and arrow using baling twin and a nail, a boat made out of a hollowed out aspen tree, a pine cone "bomb" and an origami "Yoda".
The coolest homemade gift was what Josh's Dad helped me make for Josh. A chalkboard and a "drop-box" to put in the barn.
A book shelf, an airplane, a boat formed from a hollowed out piece of wood, painted pieces of wood and a "forget-me" stick.
A wire picture holder Josh made for one of the kids, made from wood and wire lying around the ranch.
The coolest homemade gift was what Josh's Dad helped me make for Josh. A chalkboard and a "drop-box" to put in the barn.
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