Day Twenty: It’s has been a week sense I worked Happy last. A girl I had met, Kirsten came to help me with him today. I work him a little, working through his jumpiness until he would walk a circle around me. Then Kirsten led him around like Ashley had done. Today the wind wasn’t so bad and he was calmer. Kirsten had a really good way with her body language and Happy responded well to her. We move him to the next step and she lunged him with me as just a passenger, sending him out away from her at a walk. This colt is so quick, falling off is a concern without him even trying to get me off. He is so touchy, holding on or trying to stop his movement by pull his mouth would scare him and undo the work I’ve done, so nice and easy at a walk is all we want from him today. He was great changing direction, switching from one eye to another without grabbing his ass, he was really good still ultra aware of every move you make but really good.

Day Nineteen: Ashley had stopped by so I decided to try and ride Happy today. The wind was just howling today and all the horses are full of fire. I took Happy into the indoor and lunged him until he was settled. He was still nervous cause the wind was so strong it would shake the barn. With Knees knocking I climbed aboard. Ashley led him around getting him used to carrying my weight. Happy would nervously tuck his ass when the wind would wipe through the opening of the barn but Ashley would settle him for me and let me just be a passenger and sit there. Happy did great carrying me around for the first time.

Day Eighteen: I took Happy to my Wed. night Clinics again. He trailored great. I put him in the round pen like the last time and went to teach my class. After class one of my students found Happy wondering around. He had managed to get the gate open, little stinker! Happy took off running in the dark, when he saw Laura and I found him wondering around the parking lot. A loose horse in a strange place is never good but at least the place is fenced and he couldn’t get out on the main road. I relaxed and went to get the halter, Happy came trotting up to me in the dark when he heard my voice, what a good boy. He is not much to look at yet, but I think I kinda like Him:0

Day Seventeen: I had been breeding my others stallion Expressive N Smart (Cody) the last few days and Happy now hears the call of the wild and has been trying to impress the ladies. He is really feminine looking and when he tries to strut I just have to laugh. I have waited a long time for this breeding and now I have to look past his awkward looks and hope he will grow into himself.
I have not worked with Happy for three days now and he is full of it. I am not sure if he is nervous about me stepping up on him or just fresh. I long line him again making him trot a small circle around me, his is good to the left and will walk after awhile of trotting. Now on the other side the slightest movement from me makes him trot faster and faster. I’m getting irritated with him today and try to make him circle smaller to slow him down, which in turn make Happy freak out and bolt away, rope burning my hands. I know better, I take a deep breath and try it again making sure to just hold him there until he walks. If he tries to stop and face me I press him slightly to keep going, In his learning process he will try to stop then take off when I ask him to keep going, trotting faster, finally working back around to wanting to stop again. I am, what I call winding him down, just me being that close to him makes him nervous, the pressure is already there, I am waiting for him to think about excepting and relaxing.
I step up on him again today and he is really good until I patted him on the hind end. I had his face around to the side I was standing on but I patted him on the other hip. He looked back the other way so fast all I knew was he was spinning around the wrong way and sent me flying. I landed on my feet and pulled him back around to face me. Woops. I hold his head around tighter this time and step up again patting him on the side I’m up on first. I even cluck to him and ask him to walk a circle around with me standing in one stirrup. He handles this well on both sides and so I throw my leg over and just sit on him. I’m still riding alone so I just sit and chat with him a while. It’s always funny to me the first time I look down at them. A lot of hours will be spent looking down at Happy. He didn’t look any better from this view and even looked a bit uglier, his white on him nose made his head look longer and skinnier. Poor Happy he is an ugly duckling. He was trying to take a little nap so I thought I should dismount before he fell all the way asleep and then wake up forgetting I’m up there. He stood quietly while I dismounted, he lost the sleepy look but he never moved his feet. Another day forward;0)

Day sixteen: I had to teach clinics all weekend so Happy hadn’t been worked in three days. I saddled him in the barn and then took him out to the round pen. I forgot the camera so left Happy in the round pen with the reins tied up. When I came back and entered the round pen Happy nervously took off running so I made him keep up that place for a while, rolling him back on the fence until I could feel him wanting to slow down. I take off the pressure standing still in the center of the pen. Happy comes into the middle with me at a walk. I pet him and leave him again, to wonder around the pen. When I return Happy does the some thing again, taking off running when entering the pen again so I push him until he starts to try to stop and face me. I make him continue around the pen for a little bit longer than he really wanted too and then let him join me in the center of the pen. I pet him and leave him again. This time when I return Happy starts to run and then stopped to face me. Happy is starting to make choices, should I go or should I stay now? He decided to stay so I let him hang out with me while I get the long lines untangled. Happy gets the lines tangled today and so we have to work out some panic issues when he gets tangled but after that he was really good long lining today.
Ashley stops by today and so I decided to try to step up on Happy. I don’t like to do this work when I’m alone, I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity of support. All I want to get done today is get Happy to except me stepping up on him, excepting my weight and getting above his head. I want him to except this on both sides. I jump up and down a few time and then step up, Happy doesn’t like it and dances around a bit but stays with me. I’m surprised, I really thought he would leap away from me much more than he did. He didn’t like the right side and jumped a little but most horse do. We don’t spend as much time on the right side of a horse so they are usually a little more fussy. I want him to see me up there with both eyes. The flighty ones I make sure to stand on both sides, not with all horse I start, cause I‘m uncoordinated on that side, just the ones I think need this step. Even though I felt I could have gotten on today I decide it’s been a long day. I will see how Happy really felt about the lesson tomorrow when I try again.

Day Fifteen: I had a young girl come and look at one of my rooms for rent, she had also started colts for some other trainers I know and so I used Happy to go through how I get them started. I took him out to the round pen and went through some of the things I want to get done before climbing on. I do things much differently now that I'm older. I could tell she was thinking just get on him already. lol when I was her age I would get on everything in three days. Some had really long days to get them to that point. Now I want to teach there mind and not just tire out thier body. I keep it simple and hopefully they keep moving forward a little each day. I have found they hold onto the things I teach them better with only a few things to learn a day and I also need the training to fit into a training time slot. Each horse has a training time slot, if he progresses in that time slot he is a good one, if he does not it is the owner of the horse who needs to rethink how much they want this horse trained.
I lung Happy until he will change direction and walk off the other way relaxed, about fifteen minutes. I stand next to Happy as we are talking, I have my arm over his back and I lean my body on his, he flinches every time I would move. I jump up and down in place with my hands on his back, he would leap away each time, I try to stay with him still jumping. I kept doing this until he will stand and then I walk forward, lead him around the pen for a bit and then do it all again until he will stand when I start to jump. He finally lowered his head, ears out to the side and tried to take a cat nap as I am long winded. This was the first time he had done that, hanging out with him talking was a good lesson for the day so I put him away.

Day Fourteen: Today I was running behind with the new real estate business and now blogging, there was not enough time in the day to work with Happy. Normally I would leave it for another day but I decided to take him to my Wed. night clinics instead.
This blogging thing is really working for I never take my babies around with me anymore. I used to but the last few years I just didn’t want to bother with it. Horse trainers burnout.;0)
I’m late and so the horses have to wait until I get back to be fed. I load up my stallion Cody, who I take to teach my class and go get Happy. I had no time to waste, I took a deep breath and walk into the trailer like I did with Cody and to my surprise Happy came with me, he hesitated when his feet hit the ramp, but when I asked him to come with, he did, like he had been trailed a million times. He stood for me to tie him and just turned back to look at me when I closed the door. That was way to easy, and I’m not going to be late to my class. When I arrived at the ranch, I take Happy out of the trailer and put him in the round pen there. He walked around, trotted a little and then went to sniffing the ground for clues. I left him to go teach my class in the indoor arena. I heard him call a few time from the round pen, when it got dark out and he could not see the other horse in their stalls. when I went to catch him he came right up to me in the dark and let me put the halter on him. I had asked one of my students to help me, if he refused to get in the trailer cause it was late and really cold tonight. I walked him to the trailer and when he started to load up my student pressed him from behind, he didn’t like that and pulled back. Knowing how sensitive he is I asked her to back up and lets see if he will get back in. I asked him again and he walked right in. When we got home he stood quietly to be untied and walk out of the trailer like a pro. Happy was a very good boy tonight.

Day Thirteen: I tie Happy in a stall to saddle today. When I cinch him his long hair gets stuck in the cinch and before I knew it Happy was full on bucking tied in the stall. I ran out and let him settle. He hit his head on the roof pretty hard, he was mad and defencive at this point, I managed to get his hair unstuck and left him to stand saddle for a while.
I take him out to the round pen and put the long lines on him again. He remembers his first lesson very well and turns with a light pull. I pull his face into the panel but this time I ask him to stop with his hind end facing me. He doesn't like me directly behind him and tries to leave each time, I have to pull him back to face the panel using the panels to stop him until he will stand. He is like a dancing horse at the end of the lines, leaping to on side and then the other. This boy has got some moves, Wow. Finally he stands with me close up to his hind end I step to one side and ask him to go around the pen in the that direction. Each time he gets better and when he will stop and stand without dancing, I ask for a few back steps making sure he is still facing the panels. I end the lesson when Happy will stop and back a few steps out in the middle of the pen off of the panels.