Day Twelve: I saddle and take Happy to the round pen. I put the snaffle on, tie the reins up on the horn and let him run a bit. With over reactive colts like this one I make sure not to tie there head around to the side of the saddle yet, before long lining them because they are so reactive and quick they think they know what I want and will turn in circles tangling the line every time I try to turn them. I have to pull a little harder than I would like to turn them but it’s a good trade off. Happy has learn to give his head down and straight back so when I ask for a turn he does just that and keeps on going straight chin to chest. I have to pull him into the panel pretty hard a few time before he get the idea and start to turn willingly. Most of my lessons last only about thirty minutes or so on young horses, depending on their attitude that day. If they need worked to pay attention I work them but if they are really trying, I give back and make a short day. I really don’t want to make them so fit it take forever to get there attention. Happy learned his first driving lesson in twenty minute so I put him away. I am happy with Happy.

Day Eleven: I remind Happy of the lesson of lunging close up and personal, he leaps away again but settles faster today. I want to make sure he is ok with this step before I move to the next thing, making sure to wind him down to a walk each time, changing directions often until he will walk off. I am close enough I could almost reach out and touch him. Now with the end of the lung line I rap it around his hind quarters to get him use to things around him. He tucked his ass but stay with me at a trot. I let him trot around me until he will walk again. I do both sides. He surprised me today I thought for sure he would through a fit about this step, he really doesn’t like me around his hind end. He handle this well. Still wide eye but he never kick at the rope as I had thought he would. Happy is ready to be driven with long lines:0)

Day Ten: I came down with the common cold and so It’s been five days sense I worked Happy. The needs of the Ranch never stop even if I am sick so I do the bare minimum to make it through. You can see how I fall behind on my own horses every year. Blogging Happy’s progress is really working for me, I felt really guilty not working him the last few days, it was funny.
The sun is out and it feels like spring and Happy is feeling the call of the wild. This is the first time I have seen him act like a stud. It wasn’t very impressive and the mares he was showing off too weren’t very impressed either and run off to the other side of the pasture. Witch in turn sent Happy into a frenzy, he started to worry, pacing his stall, calling after them. He was preoccupied to say the least when saddling, still worrying over the mares, he didn’t seem to notice me saddling him. I took him out to the round pen and let him run some of this energy off. Normally Happy is overly aware of me, at of times. but today he across the pen and back to the gate calling after the mares almost wiping me out in the process. He was good and tired when he finally would stay with me and follow me around the pen. This was a good day to get him used to me working him closer to me. I put the long line with a halter on him and made him lung closely around me at a trot. He doesn’t like me being so close to his sides and he keeps leaping way, facing me and backing, it takes awhile before I can get him to stay trotting around me closely and then finally down to a walks. He has finally given me his full attention, softened his eyes so I love on him a little and put him away.

Working Cow Horse on a Budget part two:

So excited with my new livestock I put them in the round pen to work and quickly realized I didn't know what the heck I was doing. They were much faster than the cows, I had been taking lessons with. My horse was loosing confidence fast. I took a moment, rethinking how to make this work for me. I looked at the wild sheep more like the buffalo I had worked in the past.
I put one sheep in the round pen. I watched the sheep nervously pace the fence back and fourth trying to get back with the other two sheep. The sheep did not need any more pressure at this point. I put my horse in the pen and stay on the far other side away from the sheep. At first the sheep would try to jump out and crash into the fence, there herding instinct is very strong, but they are so small no harm is done to the sheep or my fencing, they just bounce off. Keeping my horse way off the sheep, I school my horse by following the sheep back and fourth, backing and turning my horse as the sheep paces. It was much like working a fag but I didn't need another person to run it for me:0)

The sheep are much smaller than a cow and can turn around in the same place they are standing, this creates a problem in keeping the mirror image of the sheep with my horse, much more backing is required. Keeping things slow, I turn my horse whenever the sheep turns and then I back my horse back into position. After a while the sheep do settle and then I could start tracking them around the pen more like a cow.

Day nine: I am feel a cold coming on and just wasn't up to working with Happy today. As I approach his stall to clean it, he turns around nervously as always. I stand and just watch him for awhile. He take a bit of hay and then turns around in his stall again this time coming up to the gate to smell me. He takes another bit and does the same thing, each time coming back to smell me. He is curious but still not sure about me.
He handled being sacked out, the saddle on his back and bit in his mouth and so I feel good about his progress. I like a horse to have a health respect for me and a little fear goes with that. He is so athletic and quick it make things a little unnerving to say the least so I'm not wanting to climb aboard until he warms up to me more.

Day Eight

Day Eight: I tied Happy in a stall I use for saddling. I also use this stall as storage for blankets and shaving. I brushed him again (with the soft brush) he flinches and cruel his bobby in the corner of the stall in protest going down on one knee but he doesn't bump me with his nose or pull back today. I ride another horse and when I get back in the barn he had untied himself, pulled all the blankets down, scattered the grooming box and opened a bag of shaving. There is Happy quite happy with himself standing in this mess he made. He even managed to get the blankets out of their storage bens and of course had to crap on everything while he was at it. Thanks Happy.

Auction day in February and I have talked my friend Ashley to help me rope and tag the sheep before loading them in the horse trailer the night before. Now, I know, there are easier ways of getting this done and that is something we discuss every year, like making a mini shoot before next winter, but we never do.
This winter has been a wet one and the pen is slop, just walking is difficult without losing a boot. We stand at the gate looking at the 11 young sheep we have to tag and drag to the trailer. I have a ramp on both the back door and side door of my horse trailer so getting them loaded without letting the other sheep out is a skill we have learned through trail and error.
I have waited longer than I should have for Auction day and the sheep are bigger than I would like, lifting them up into the trailer while I open the ramp slightly is hard enough when they are small because they are wiggly little things. I have let things at the ranch go sense my father passed away Nov. 30th and I felt really thankful Ashley was willing to help. I have never worked these sheep with my horses so they are wild and would have been hell by myself. It's been eight years I have been working this ranch by myself and sometimes I wonder why I do this. Today was one of those days.
The pen really stinks, it's pure crap and we start to laugh and laugh some more. I decide I'm going to catch the big wildest one first, get him out of the way while we are fresh, Ashley agrees and so I throw my first lope, I miss him but I rope two in one. I had two rams roped. The day was getting a little brighter. I never get two, I'm lucky if I get one, they are really good at leaping out of the loop. Tagging two however had it's challenges but we got it done with few battle wounds, the rams horns can be sharp. I swing a few more time getting nothing and then I did it again this time two ewes. Without horn one of the ewes wiggled her way out but I grabbed her leg. One still roped and one in hand, I was on fire today.

I gave the rope to Ashley and let her give it a go. The rope at this point is total slime and we go through a period where we can't hold anything. The dogs are at our heals trying to help biting at the sheep and we are done laughing and now are screaming at the dogs to get out of the pen. We went from tired not sure we want to take this on today, to really happy laughing our asses off, to mad and now we are back to tired and want to just get this done.
There is this one sheep who is just spry, I have been trying to get him from the start. I have him in my sights, I swing and the rope go's around all three sheep. The one lone ram and the two ewes on either side, the ram jumps out of it leaving me with the two ewes and there he his, still running. Spry
This little ram has seen his buddies picked off one by one and now he is running, snorting, and going after the dogs. He was like a mini bull, madder than heck. I was a little worried he might come after me so I swung my rope and that little ram started to try to jump out, bouncing off the fence, he was losing it, and for the life of me, I couldn't get my rope untangled and he was going to hurt himself. As he leaps buy me trying to jump out he hit his face hard on the rock pillor, stunned for a moment, I give up on the rope and just grabbed him by the hair. I had to admire his spirit for life. We try not to think about where we are taking them, for I really do love my little sheep. There are others like me who collect and don't eat them and we hope for the best.
The sun started to set and cloudy Sky's give way to rays of gold. We stop and watch for awhile remembering some of the other Auction days we have shared together. Times like these, when things are harder than you think you can handle, you find out what matters to you. Good friends and my ranch matter to me. I thought I was going to loose it when I divorce with two kids in middle school but I pressed on and work really hard. Now with the economy I face loosing it again. Not sure if I have much more left to give. I realize, I do, I love this place, I love my horses and my sheep. Yes, I love my life in all it's trails and tribulations. Covered in crap, tired, feeling beat down, I see the truth of my life. I'm not just a horse trainer, I am a Rancher, it's who I am and what I love.

Day Seven

Day Seven: I was falling behind on my work today so Ashley helped with Happy. He bonked me with his nose again when saddling him, I didn't spend much time handling him before but without thinking I punched him in the nose again. As flighty as this colt is, I'm amazed he takes the punch without freaking out and pulling back. Ashley longed him in the indoor and he was really good for her. She led him around the Ranch to let him just hang out with her for a while. Thanks Ash

Day six: Today I spent more time brushing him, I tried a softer brush and that was more to his liking. He still didn't like me brushing his legs going down on one knee, pulled back and then leaped forward in protest. He finally realized I wasn't going to to give up and so he stood and let me brush his legs and belly. I bit him up like before, this time I stay in the pen and push him forward around at a trot. He trotted off good, figuring out the motion his legs make and giving to the pressure shaking his head in protest. I only push to the trot at first, making sure they are giving to the pressure of the bit without fighting any more before pushing to a lope. Happy decided maybe loping would be better so off he went. It wasn't, and so he started to buck, hitting his mouth hard a few time before he firgured out how to buck and not hurt his mouth. He carried on bucking for a good five minute or so and then trotted and loped around the pen trying to find the right spot in witch to carry his head with the least amount of pressure.

Day five: Today Happy's lesson was learning to carry a snaffle bit. I took him out to the round pen and put the snaffle on. He handle it nicely, so I left him to hang out in the round pen, while I went to ride another horse.
He had stopped trying to spit the bit out and was quite when I returned so I decided to go ahead and tie the reins through his front leg and over his back to let him hang out some more with the new added pressure. Now when I try to tie the reins Happy didn't want me touching between his front legs picking up his leg and almost laying down like a horse bowing. Dork, so I had to work him through this a bit until he would stand on all four legs. I like this way of bitting up because they can put their head down, like grazing and will not make there neck sore. The only time there is pressure is when they put there head up higher than their back. I leave them to figure this out on their own without the added pressure of me. I can see my round pen while I work and notice that Happy was learning to give to the pressure nicely walking around the pen quitely. I try to keep fridays easy days, it doesn't work all the time but I try because I want there work week to end on a good note. Happy had excepted his first bitting up with out making his mouth sore at all.

Day Four: Now that Happy seemed to be handling the saddle, I was going to saddle him in the barn today. I decided to tie him in a stall and go in and brush and pet him throughout the day in the hopes he would calm to me approaching him and touching him. He was defensive today. When I would touch somewhere he didn't like he would put his ears back at me quick and then they would come forward just as fast. Happy is one of those colts where there ears are always going. He even bumped me with his mouth, as to bit. He hit me pretty hard without opening his mouth so I punched him in the muzzle and to my amazement he just look at me like, Ya Ok, I deserved that. I hate when they try to take a bit out of me and they are tied in a stall and freak out and pull back but rude is rude and I won't put up with that for a second, might as well explain this right off the bat and thankfully Happy understood. I finished brushing him for good measure and left him tied. When I saddle him about an hour later he still rounded his back so I left him there for a bit more, before leading him out to the round pen. As he came through the gate he hooked a stirrup and scared himself so we had to come through the gate a few more time until he would just walk through again. He lunged very nicely today but still tried to leap out from under the saddle when I went to take it off. It was a long day so I put him in his stall.

Day Three...

Day three: Today I work Happy in the round pen, for it had finally dried enough. The weather was beautiful and felt like spring and Happy was full of it. He's the kind of colt that runs first and thinks later so I let him run until he followed me around the pen. Today he decided he really didn't want the saddle on by leaping away from it every time I tried to put it on. I thought my arm was going to fall off but finally he stood steady for me to saddle. I cinched him up and he rounded his back but just stood there with eye wide looking at me. Happy was not happy about his new job and was quite irritated with the whole thing today. Waiting a few minutes until his eyes softened, then I tried to send him around the pen, today he decided that he wasn't going anywhere and just looked at me refusing to move. I pressed on and thought he was going to come undone but he didn't, he trotted off, stopping a few times with his butt tucked and then walked off. Happy is excepting the saddle but still has a hard time with me touching him, flinching every time I reach out to pat him. He is ultra sensitive and doesn't like to be brushed or patted, he is very curious and he is kinda warming up to being scratched under his mane every now and then. Today took longer then the first two day but still ended well.

Working Cow Horse on a Budget

Have you always wanted to work cow? Even bought a horse that has cow horse training or breeding only to find out that it's so expensive for lesson or training? In order to competitive you need to work cow an a regular basis and that can get out of reach for some of us, like me. I had specialized in Reining and wasn't that far off from being able to do working cow horse I had the dry pattern and now all I needed was the Cow work. I had been attending the Snaffle Bit Competition as a spectator for years and always wanted to try it.

When the Northern California Reined Cow Horse Ass. was being developed, I happily became a member and soon served on the Board for three years. it was a great place for me and my clients to school our Reining horses. It wasn't long before we all got the Cow Horse bug. Two big problems, I didn't have any cows and as a straight Reiner, I didn't have fencing to hold cows. My area was a big open area with limited fencing around it. As a single mother of two kids, I was struggling to keep my ranch and I didn't see the state of my fencing problem changing any time soon. Frustrated and feeling left out of the fun, I started working my horses on a flag which I found very beneficial but kind of boring after a while. I talked to as many Cow Horse trainers as I could who had worked goats in years past and I decided that's what I should try. I called on some goats I found for sale but their goats were already tame and wouldn't work for what I needed. She did have some wild hair sheep and that sounded intrueging. I would have the smell of the male goats and the hair sheep shed so I wouldn't have to sheer them. She warned me that they are wild and hard to tame, this was sounding like just what I needed. I bought three little Barbados sheep to start.

Royalsonofaboonsmal (Happy)

Day Two:Happy came out of his stall with his eyes bugging out of his head. The first saddling made him worry and now he was sure that something was going to get him today. It took a good half an hour of lunging before he would settle down. As I watch this colt sweep across himself with every change of direction, I can't help but to addmire his grace and conviction of movement, I will admit I'm not in a real big hurry to get on him.
I put the saddle on and cinched it up to the first hole and waited a minute. He felt the cinch and he rounded his back, stiffened his frimt legs and arched his neck but he just stood there so I waited some more and finally he relaxed. After repeating this process a few times I got the saddle snug and he decided he was going to be OK after all. He walk out with the saddle on and didn't buck today. Still wide eye and full of fire but he was excepting the saddle on his second day. Today started off a little rough but ended good. I was happy with Happy.

Royalsonofaboonsmal (Happy)

Royalsonofaboonsmal is a 2008 colt nick named Happy by Cay Oh Pep and out of a Flynns Gayson ofaDoc mare Flynns lil Tejon. Now the reason I nick named him Happy is when he was one day old and trying out is new legs he stumbled into me and kicked me in the leg for being in his way, so in old cowboy fashion I name him the opposite of his little attitude. Now little Happy never kick me again sense that day but he has been a hand full. He was the only foal born that year so he got into trouble frequently by leaving his mother screaming and running the fence to go visit the neighbors. At four and a half months old I had had enough of his touring the neighborhood and I decided to wean him. Not having a playmate I put him in the barn next to another horse. Now as independent as this colt had always been I didn't think this would hit him so hard but the day he found out he couldn't get out, his little world came crashing down around him, he refused to eat and ran the stall for days. I put his mother in the next stall and still he took all the hide off his face running into the gate. He had broken the hot wire so many times he couldn't believe he couldn't run through this too. He finally settled down after a week or so but he lost all his baby fat. My high powered cutting horse I have always wanted was now this skinny little thing I was embarrassed to own.
I am a Reining horse trainer and I like the look and mind of a Reiner. Happy was something else entirely. Flighty was an understatement. I knew Cutting breed horses were a little different from all the horses I have had in training through the years but I had never really bred for one. Trying to understand this over reactive colt I tried not to take his flightiness as a bad thing. I halter broke him, taught him to lunge briefly and then tie, then put him out to pasture with some others younger horses to grow, hoping he would grow out of this funky stage soon. I only handle him when needed like feet care, worming and the such. I don't handle my babies much, I want them to be horses not pets. I have found that pets on the most part don't make good performance horses with a good work ethic. They take the training personal and lack try and so I leave them to grow up like a horse. They become pet in the training process but with a stronger work ethic and better boundaries.

Now Happy is two and starting his training under saddle. I remind him of the lessons I taught him when he was young and now he is ready to go to work. I have decided to blog his progress in the hopes it will make me keep up on his training. Every year I fall behind on my own horses, and I mean every year, it really sad, clients always come first and at the end of the day I get lazy. I am wanting to get him into the snaffle bit two year old select sales and so hoping I will not fall behind again here go's my first training blog.

Day One:I took him out to the round pen and sacked him out with a blanket. He doesn't like me touching him much so this took awhile before he would stand and let me put it on both sides. I put the saddle on and he stood well, wide eyed but stood still. I have grabbed him under his girth a few times to get him used to the feeling and so I went ahead and cinched him to the first hole. He went straight up bucking and now was chasing me around the pen thinking I would save him for this thing on him back and yes I was running to get out of the way. I didn't get a chance to get the saddle very tight and now it was up on his neck forcing his head down between his front legs, he stop bucking as fast as he had started and stood frozen. I waited a minute or two and then went up to him and repositioned the saddle and cinched him up tighter this time. He rounded his back but didn't start bucking again. I sent him around the pen, he is irritated and kicked at the stirrups a few time and then tucked his ass and ran a bit finally settling down to carry the saddle around like a trooper.